Shoppers flee at Mall of America after reports of shooting
Security at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, have confirmed the mall is on lockdown after police described an "active incident inside" the mall.
The Bloomington Police Department announced the arrests of three people, including Best Western employees, who allegedly helped two suspects escape the Mall of America following a shooting there on Thursday.
Denesh Raghubir, 21; Delyanie Kwen-Shawn Arnold, 23; and Selena Raghubir, 23, were charged with aiding an offender to avoid arrest.
The two suspects who were allegedly involved in the altercation before the shooting – 21-year-old Shamar Alon Lark and 23-year-old Rashad Jamal May – are still at large.
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According to court documents obtained by Fox 9 Minneapolis, Lark and May got into a fight at the cash register of the Nike store with another group of people. They left the store briefly, but Lark allegedly returned with a handgun and fired three shots. No one was wounded by the gunfire.
The suspects fled the scene and were eventually picked up by a Best Western hotel shuttle at a nearby IKEA driven by Denesh Raghubir, the court filings say.
"[Denesh Raghubir] stated that when he dropped the two off at Best Western, [Selena Raghubir] immediately left the front desk and he did not see her for about 45 minutes," the court documents say.
Selena Raghubir's boyfriend, Delyanie Kwen-Shawn Arnold, then allegedly transported the two suspects to a residential area in Bloomington.
May was also in contact with Arnold by phone in the minutes after the shooting, according to the court documents.
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Authorities later searched the homes of Arnold and Selena Raghubir, where they found clothing that the two shooting suspects were wearing on the day of the altercation.
"I don't know why they would help," Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said at a press conference on Monday. "I know that they're all friends. But they're locked up and those two are running around right now, so that didn't really work out too well for them."
All three suspects are being held at the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center on a $75,000 bail.
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A spokesperson for BWH Hotel Group said in a statement on Monday that the involved employees have been fired.
"Noting this hotel is independently owned and operated, we support the hotel’s decision to immediately terminate the employees who were allegedly involved in this terrible event," the spokesperson said. "The actions of these employees stand in stark contrast to our brand’s values and the sense of community that is at the heart of our hotel family."
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