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Police are currently responding to a call of service at La Plaza Mall in McAllen, Texas, with reports of a shooting, later turning out to be an attempted robbery, taking place inside the mall appearing on social media. During early reports of the story, exact details of what were happening were unclear.
What happened?
On Twitter, CBS News 4 issued the following statement concerning accounts of the incident:
“
#BREAKING: McAllen police responding to La Plaza Mall”
Laura Martinez, the Metro Editor for the Brownsville Herald newspaper, also wrote the following on Twitter, confirming that the mall is currently on lockdown:
“#BREAKINGNews @CityofMcAllen Reported lockdown at La Plaza Mall.McAllen Police at scene. Employees hiding in stores. #RGV”
“#BreakingNews @CityofMcAllen employees reported hear “pop, pop, pop” inside La Plaza Mall.#RGV”
People have been sharing first-hand accounts of the lockdown
According to The Monitor, one person who appeared to be inside the mall at the time of the incident posted SnapChat videos on social media which appeared to show a man with his hands restrained lying on the floor inside the mall, with officers surrounding him; another video also showed what appeared to be more individuals sitting down on a bench inside the mall, with officers surrounding them and their hands handcuffed behind them.
According to The Monitor, Madeline Madden, a 17-year-old model from McAllen, gave the following account of people trying to escape the mall:
“The man and his wife came in with their kids and asked if they were going to lock the door, and they told us what happened … that there had been a shooting.”
“They were trying to get away. The wife was crying and the man looked really nervous. They had a newborn and a toddler with them, and the toddler was crying. Someone else came and had cuts all over them from falling. We had to lock the doors and wouldn’t let anyone else into the store.”
“People were trying to come into the store and everyone was running around.”
Update: According to The Monitor, the incident is believed to have been a robbery attempt at a local jewelry store inside the mall, with early reports of a shooting attributed to glass shattering; at this time, there are no reports of injuries. Seven people are in police custody relating to the incident.
While ultimately revealed to be a robbery, early reports suggested the incident was tied to an active shooting. According to CBS News, the Hidalgo County Constable’s office for Precinct 4 posted a message on its Facebook page urging people to avoid the shopping mall due to an “Active Shooter at the McAllen Plaza Mall.”
