TYSONS, Va. — Tysons Corner Center was evacuated Saturday afternoon after shots were fired during a group fight, according to Fairfax County Police. No one was injured in the shooting, and three people were treated for minor injuries sustained in the evacuation.
Around 2:45 p.m., police said they began receiving multiple 911 calls from community members reporting a shooting inside the mall. Several tweets began surfacing showing people running away from the mall or and many responded saying they were hiding. Many of the tweets referenced an "active shooter" but police were quick to correct that.
FCPD tweeted around 3:20 p.m. that police were on scene for reports of shots fired inside the mall after a fight broke out "between a small group" on the second floor. Officers on scene evacuated the mall "to ensure suspects are no longer present" and asked those sheltering in place to stay put until they were cleared by police.
Lisa Lujan sheltered inside a jewelry store. She told WUSA9 that her first concern was where her teenage daughter was.
"I am a school employee so I live with this fear every day," Lujan said.
Lujan's daughter, Kaitlyn, and her friends said they immediately started sprinting towards the exits after making sure they were all together.
"I felt so scared, but I was with a lot of people and I didn't want them to feel so scared so we got away. I didn't feel in control but I had to pretend so no one else would panic," she said.
Col. Brian Reilly said multiple shots were fired, though he did not specify how many. Police did not specify how many shooters there were, but said shell casings were found at the scene. Police do not have any suspects in custody.
"We will find, we will capture and we will hold accountable the persons involved for this melee," FCPD Chief Kevin Davis said.
A 16-year-old working at Claire's inside the mall said her manager started telling everyone to move to the back of the store after they saw people outside the store running towards exits. The teen said she hid with customers, including some small children, in the back of the store near a loading dock.
"I still don't know, like, what happened or what was going on," the teen girl said. "I feel so scared about it."
Due to a traffic jam on Chain Bridge Road families were forced to reunite at a nearby gas station. Jennifer Leon said she got separated from her sister-in-law while taking care of her baby nephew: "It was very scary. I was with my nephew. All I thought of was protecting my nephew."
Police added that the mall will remain closed for the day while they work to investigate. Tysons Corner Center is expected to reopen Sunday at 11 a.m.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Several of the tweets below refer to the situation as an active shooter. Fairfax County Police say there is no active shooter.
