One person was killed and two injured in a shooting at the Vancouver Mall food court around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, police said, as shoppers described hearing shots ring out and ran for the doors while others sheltered in place.

Police received an early report that the shooter was seen dressed all in black wearing a clown mask and last seen running toward JCPenny. The shooter was still at-large late Thursday.

A family-friendly Halloween event was happening inside the mall when police said an unidentified person in the food court area shot and killed another person and “fired other rounds that struck two other individuals.” Their conditions were unknown.

By around 8:30 p.m., police said the danger had passed. “There is currently no active threat inside the mall,” Vancouver police wrote on X at that time.

Detectives were trying to identify the shooter through video footage from the mall, located near the interchange of Interstate 205 and State Route 500, with more than 125 stores, including Macy’s, H&M, Hobby Lobby and JCPenney.

Vancouver resident Jadyn Christy was leaning on a railing on the second floor of the mall when he said “out of nowhere” he heard gunshots that made his “ears ring.” He said he heard between five and 10 gunshots. His pregnant girlfriend and her 4-year-old son and another close friend with their child were inside the Hot Topic clothing store, he said.

“I quickly realized this wasn’t OK,” Christy said. He immediately ran inside the store, yelled, “Get out! There’s a shooter!” and started to collect his girlfriend, her son and friend. People in the store panicked and ran out, knocking over boxes, he said.

“It was chaos,” he said.

Christy, his girlfriend with her son and their friend ran out of the mall to their car.

“People were just hanging outside and even dozens were still pouring in as I screamed, ‘Shooter! Shooter! Shooter, Run, Run!’” he said. “I ran as fast as I could to our vehicle.”

He was thankful they got out safely, but said the mall was crowded and the mall security appeared to be “overwhelmed.”

“It was supposed to be safe,” Christy said.

The mall was hosting an “evening trick-or-treating” event that started at 5 p.m. and was scheduled to last until 8 p.m.

Elliott Hunt was with friends by the Round1 Bowling & Arcade on the mall’s second floor. He said he heard two loud sounds initially coming from the direction of the food court but thought somebody had possibly dropped something really heavy.

“We all turned our heads toward the food court and looked and then there were four more shots in succession. By then, it was very clear it was gunshots,” he said.

What followed were “absolutely god-awful screams,” he said, and “everyone started sprinting.”

He was with several friends, including one who had two young children, a 4-month-old and a 1-year-old. They had decided to spend Halloween night at the mall because it was cold and raining.

Once they realized there was gunfire, they ran out the second-floor doors near Jimmy John’s restaurant. The crush of people trying to race out the doors made it impossible for Hunt’s friend to squeeze his daughter’s stroller through. “He just picked his daughter up and ditched the stroller,” Hunt said.

By the time they got outside, Hunt said the area was swarming with tactical police officers, fire trucks and ambulances.

Hunt called another friend who worked in a pet store on the mall’s first floor below the food court. She told him she and other staff were locked in a back room of the store for at least an hour before police escorted them out of the mall.

Hunt said it was terrifying to think someone was shot and killed so close to them. Hunt, who grew up in Woodland and Vancouver, had worked at the mall’s arcade for two years and used to meet friends at the mall to hang out.

“People were just there trying to have fun,” he said.

Police said any Halloween shoppers or revelers who sheltered in place immediately after the shooting could leave the mall through any exit, although police also set up a reunification area near Hobby Lobby. Vancouver police worked to clear the mall Thursday night.

Police asked anyone with information about the shooting who have not spoken with police to call the Vancouver Police Department tip line at (360) 487-7399.

— Beth Slovic is an editor on the public safety and breaking news team. Reach her at 503-221-8551 or bslovic@oregonian.com.

— Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, or on LinkedIn.

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