Wauwatosa community 'terrified and terrorized' after Mayfair Mall shooting; police looking for shooter
WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) --- Wauwatosa police are continuing to search for the suspect involved in a shooting at Mayfair Mall that has left eight people injured Friday, Nov. 20.
Wauwatosa officials said seven adults and one teen were shot. They were transported to local hospitals by Wauwatosa Fire Department and are expected to survive.
Police said when they arrived at the mall, the shooter was "no longer at the scene."
Officers said the shooting is believed to be the result of an altercation and not a random act. They described the shooter as a white male, in his 20s or 30s.
On Saturday morning, Wauwatosa officials said investigators are working tirelessly to identify and apprehend the suspect from Friday's shooting at Mayfair Mall.
"This is something that hit home. I know young people who work there, family friends who work there, and not knowing who's in the mall at that time. This is the shopping season, so my heart kind of dropped in terms of who could have been impacted by this incident," said Reggie Moore, director of the Office of Violence Prevention located within the City of Milwaukee’s Health Department.
Moore said the shooting shows too many people are using guns to solve their problems.
"What we see oftentimes is if a shooting happens in a public place like a park or some other place the violence becomes associated with that place, and I don't think that's the conclusion we should arrive to," Moore said.
The mall continues to be closed for business.
Investigators are working tirelessly to identify and apprehend the suspect from yesterday's shooting at Mayfair Mall. We ask that any witnesses to the incident please contact the Wauwatosa Police Department at 414-471-8430.
— Wauwatosa Police (WI) (@WauwatosaPD) November 21, 2020
"It's devastating, and our people have been terrified and terrorized," Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) told CBS 58.
Vining stressed the importance of early trauma invention for the shooting victims and others exposed to the violence.
"There's a larger issue that we need to understand how trauma affects communities, how it affects people, that there's a ripple effect, that the violence doesn't end when televisions turn off or when the incident is considered over. The violence continues, and trauma and early trauma intervention is absolutely crucial for communities and individuals to heal," Vining said.
Moore said the Milwaukee Trauma Response Team is available to counsel any families who were in the mall at the time.
"(I'm) definitely glad to hear that there were no fatalities, but at the same time, the impact of these incidents extend far beyond the people who were directly injured. This is an injury to our entire community," Moore said.
Officials said if anyone has property or a vehicle that they need to pick up, contact Mayfair Mall Security at 414-443-5140 and they will provide directions on how to retrieve their belongings.
Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride said in a statement Sunday: "Guns have no place in shopping malls or other places in which crowds of people gather. Mayfair has a strict no-gun policy. If the shooter had complied with that policy, no one would have been hurt yesterday."
Read McBride's full statement below:
Wauwatosa Police Department will continue to provide updated information when it is made available. Stick with CBS 58 for updates as the story develops.