Florida mall shooting leaves 1 dead, 2 injured

 By   on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

UPDATED 1:48 p.m. ET

One person is dead and two others injured, after a shooter opened fire inside the food court of the Melbourne Square mall in Melbourne, Florida, on Saturday morning.

The shooting took place before the mall opened at 10 a.m., local time, with NBC News reporting that the first police calls occurred around 9:30 a.m..

Melbourne Mayor Kathy Meehan told media that the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute between the shooter and his wife. The wife reportedly worked in the mall's food court, where her husband shot her. A co-worker of the wife who tried to intervene, and take the shooter's gun away, was also shot. Meehan said the co-worker died from the injuries.

After shooting his wife and the co-worker, the shooter turned the gun on himself.

Melbourne Square posted a message on its Facebook page, saying that it was closed until further notice, as police investigate.

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Post by Melbourne Square.

Cmdr. Vince Pryce of the Melbourne Police Department said two injured people were taken to the hospital.

By 10:40 a.m., Melbourne police tweeted that the "shooter is contained," and that officers were clearing the mall store by store.

Shooter is contained; Ofcs are clearing the mall store by store— Melbourne Police (@MelbournePolice) January 17, 2015

Store employees n the mall are asked to exit through their back door. if you need assistance, call 321-608-6731 and Ofcs will assist you.— Melbourne Police (@MelbournePolice) January 17, 2015

Starbucks employee Cathy Wright told NBC that she heard "about three or four gunshots" in "rapid succession." Meanwhile, Rodizio Grill employee Jeff Gross told NBC that he heard five or six shots.

Gross also tweeted a photo of police officers outside the mall:

@WESH pic.twitter.com/DfFMJbSGYO— Jeff (@no_Geoff) January 17, 2015

Additional reporting by The Associated Press

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!