VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. (PIX11) — An armed man who was allegedly trying to shoplift fired one shot during a struggle with a security guard inside Green Acres Mall on Long Island Monday morning, authorities said.
The suspect was putting on clothes he wanted to steal near a second-floor clothing store when mall security confronted him at around 11:11 a.m., police said. The man told the guard he had a gun and the two struggled before the gun went off, according to police.
One round hit the floor, police said. Nobody was injured.
The suspect then ran through the mall’s garage and fled in a red SUV, police said. The man was last seen wearing boxers and one sneaker.
Shell casings were found at the scene but the gun was not recovered, police said.
The mall, located on Sunrise Highway in Valley Stream, was immediately cleared after the incident, and schools in the area went into lockdown. The mall was reopened after police conducted a search for the suspect, and the school lockdowns were lifted.
Police released a surveillance image of the suspect. No arrests had been made, as of Monday evening.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
