Trumbull Mall gunfire caught on camera as shooter remains at large
A viral video on social media shows a teenager, who ’s wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and has his face covered, with a firearm drawn at another teen.
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The search continued Monday to find the teenage gunman who fired a shot inside the Trumbull Mall on Friday evening—an incident that was captured on video by a bystander and shared online. No one was hurt, but the incident sent shoppers running and screaming in fear.
The day after Christmas is always busy at the Trumbull Mall, so police have a stepped-up presence there every year.
“That's something we've historically done, working in conjunction with the Trumbull Mall and their security team,” said Lt. Brian Falkenstein.
But on Dec. 26, a flurry of 911 calls sent even more officers to the scene just after 5:30 p.m. Police said a group of teenagers, who knew each other, was on the upper level by the Macy's store when an intense argument escalated with one pulling a gun and firing a single shot. A viral video on social media shows a teenager, who’s wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and has his face covered, with a firearm drawn at another teen. When that second teen turns and runs, the video follows him and the shooter goes out of frame. That’s when a single shot is heard followed by bystanders’ screams.
“Thank God there was only one round that was fired. Thank god it found its way—because of the way it ricocheted—into the ceiling of the mall,” Falkenstein stated. “This incident could've had a much more tragic ending, but fortunately it did not.”
Though all the teens involved managed to escape, investigators are following up on several leads, according to police.
“We definitely believe this is an isolated incident,” Falkenstein said.
In Aug. 2023, not long after a separate incident where police said a minor accidentally discharged a gun inside, the mall enacted a Saturday curfew, which remains in effect. It requires all minors under 17 to be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult over 21 years old after 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The mall previously extended that curfew to certain days over the Christmas holiday break but didn't appear to do so this year.
Mall management had no comment on the gunfire and instead referred News 12 to police.
