Boise Mall Shooting: At Least 2 Killed and 4 Injured

Two people were killed and four others were injured, including a police officer, during a shooting at a mall in Boise, Idaho, on Monday.

Police Chief Ryan Lee said that Boise officers responded to reports of shots being fired at the Boise Towne Square mall at around 1:50 p.m. and that “at least one person was shot and down.”

When the police arrived, Chief Lee said at a news conference on Monday, officers found an individual matching a suspect’s description and exchanged gunfire just afterward, which resulted in a police officer’s injury.

Chief Lee said the suspect was taken into custody. The police believe there was only one assailant and that there was “no ongoing threat or danger to the community at large from this incident,” Chief Lee said.

“We really cannot at this time speak to any motivation behind it, or anything else that may impact the investigation,” he said. “It would be entirely too premature to make any of those assumptions.”

The police did not release the names of those killed, those who had been injured or the suspect. Chief Lee said his officers were working with investigators and hospitals to notify the victims’ families.

The conditions of the four injured were not immediately known.

At the news conference, Mayor Lauren McLean of Boise said those still at the mall on Monday afternoon were safe and that the city was safe.

“As we think about those that were hurt today, my heart goes out to those who sheltered in place, those who saw this crime, those who weren’t sure if they’d see a loved one again, or who knew that they had someone that cared about in the mall,” Ms. McLean said.

The mayor thanked shopkeepers and others inside the mall during the shooting who “reacted so quickly to take care of folks that were there.”

“You showed in a tough and chaotic moment, how much you care, and what you’re willing to do to support and care for strangers,” she said.

The police chief and the mayor did not take questions at the news conference.

Gov. Brad Little of Idaho said on Twitter that those involved in the shooting were in his prayers, and the state was ready to assist the Boise police in investigating the shooting.

Diane Green told The Idaho Statesman that she was at the Apple store inside the mall when she heard a “horrible crashing sound.”

“It was like a metal window had blown in and it was echoing throughout the mall,” she told the newspaper. “Most of us there were startled at first, and then right away we heard five to six gunshots.”

Ms. Green told the paper that those at the store sought shelter in the storeroom, where they stayed for about two hours.

The two-story Boise Towne Square mall has more than 150 stores and restaurants and is surrounded outside by other businesses.

The management office of the mall did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.