Shoppers at Ontario Mills, the giant shopping centre in Ontario, San Bernardino County, ran for the exits on Friday evening, November 13, after shots were fired inside the mall, the Ontario Police Department said. Officers responded at about 7:07 p.m. following multiple reports of gunfire, and a juvenile suspect was taken into custody. Police said no one was struck by the gunfire and no one was injured.

Source: ABC7 Eyewitness News

The gunfire was reported along the mall's main concourse, near the Dave & Buster's entertainment venue and the Burlington store, rather than inside any single shop, according to police accounts carried by ABC7 Eyewitness News and KTLA. Broadcast video showed visitors streaming through the concourse and the food court areas as officers moved in and secured the scene.

What police say happened

Ontario police said officers were dispatched at approximately 7:07 p.m. on November 13 after multiple calls reporting shots fired inside the mall. The scene was contained, one suspect was taken into custody, and police said in a statement reported by KTLA: "There is no threat to the community."

Source: KTLA

Police confirmed the person in custody is a juvenile. The juvenile's identity has not been released — the names of minors in California's juvenile justice system are protected — and it was not confirmed by early Saturday whether officers had recovered a weapon, ABC7 reported.

7:07 p.m.Police response, Friday, Nov 13
0People injured, police said
1Juvenile suspect in custody

The investigation

Investigators are still working to establish the sequence of events and what led to the gunfire. Police have not announced any charges in their first accounts of the incident, and the department says the shooting investigation is continuing and that more details will be released.

What is solid

  • Ontario police responded to reports of shots fired at Ontario Mills at about 7:07 p.m. on November 13
  • A juvenile suspect was taken into custody and the scene was contained
  • No one was struck or injured, and police say there is no ongoing threat to the community

What is only claimed

  • What triggered the gunfire — police have not announced a motive
  • Whether a weapon was recovered — unconfirmed in the first police accounts
  • Social-media claims about the cause of the panic — not confirmed by police

A Friday-night crowd, two weeks before Black Friday

Ontario Mills is one of California's largest shopping centres and draws crowds from across the Inland Empire, and Friday evening is one of its busiest times of the week — with the Black Friday and holiday shopping season less than two weeks away. Incidents like this one empty American malls in seconds even when nobody is hurt, because shoppers have learned from real mall shootings elsewhere in the United States that the first seconds are the time to run.

Ontario sits at the junction of Interstates 10 and 15, in the middle of the Inland Empire's warehouse and logistics belt, where many Punjabi truck drivers and warehouse workers live and work. A scare at the region's best-known mall, on an ordinary family shopping night, lands close to home for diaspora families across San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

What happens next

Because the suspect is a juvenile, the case will be handled in juvenile court, where proceedings and records are far less public than in adult court. Police are expected to release further details of the investigation. Anyone who was in the mall and has information or video is asked to contact the Ontario Police Department. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as confirmed details are released.