Multiple Gunmen Reported in Active Shooting at El Paso Shopping Center

The police said they were responding to reports of “multiple shooters” at a shopping center in El Paso on Saturday.

The El Paso Police Department warned people on Twitter to stay away from the Cielo Vista Mall area. As of 12:11 p.m. local time, the scene was still active, the police said.

The authorities have yet to confirm whether there were any victims.

Local news media reported that law enforcement, SWAT teams and emergency response vehicles had responded to the scene. Videos posted on social media show evacuations of stores.

Nearby businesses were aware of the shooting and were taking safety precautions. An Olive Garden restaurant not far from the scene of the shooting was in lockdown mode, an employee said in a phone interview. He said that around 10 people had come into the restaurant to seek safety.

“We don’t have any information, just that there’s an active shooter at the Walmart in the same parking lot as we are,” the employee said. “We’re just on lockdown right now.”

“The SWAT team just came in and told us that they had cleared the building and told us lock the doors,” he added.

Susana Franco, the assistant manager at a Men’s Wearhouse in the Cielo Vista Mall complex, said that at least 15 people had come into her store fleeing the scene.

Ms. Franco said police officers, military and the SWAT team were all visible from her store’s front windows. “They’re not letting people in the parking lot,” she said. “They’re trying to evacuate all of the mall.”

Representative Veronica Escobar of El Paso said on Twitter that she was “utterly heartbroken” and “monitoring the situation.”

“Please stay safe,” she said.