Police: Mall shooting stemmed from attempted robbery

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A mall shooting in North Carolina that left three people wounded was the result of an attempted robbery and one of the wounded is the suspected robber, police said Friday.

Interviews by investigators and reviews of video determined that two men approached a man selling jewelry outside a store on the second floor of The Streets at Southpoint on Nov. 26, and one of the men tried to rob the salesman, the Durham Police Department said in a news release.

The vendor and the would-be robber, a 26-year-old man whom police have not identified publicly, both had guns and fired at each other, wounding the suspect and two bystanders, a 10-year-old girl and a 58-year-old man.

The man and child were treated at local hospitals and released the same day. The suspect was still hospitalized on Friday. Police said they have not yet identified the man who was with him, and so far no charges have been filed.

The mall was packed with post-Thanksgiving shoppers when the shooting happened. A bystander described “mass hysteria” on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Three people were injured as shoppers rushed for exits following the shooting, authorities said.

The mall was closed shortly after the shooting but reopened on Saturday.