An 8-year-old boy died and three other people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at an Alabama mall Friday, authorities said.
A 22-year-old man has been charged in the July 3 shootout at Alabama’s Riverchase Galleria that killed an 8-year-old boy and wounded three others.
Montez Coleman faces a capital murder charge in the death of the boy, Royta De’Marco Giles Jr., and one count each of second-degree assault for the injuries caused to a juvenile girl, an adult male and an adult female, WBMA reported.
Giles, who was shot in the head, was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham. Police said the three other victims were all treated and released Friday evening and that more suspected gunmen are being sought, AL.com reported.
All of the victims are considered innocent bystanders by police.
“Our community is heartbroken,‘' Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said during a Sunday news conference. “The officers who were on the scene will forever bear the image of an innocent child who died in their arms.”
Investigators have determined Coleman got into a verbal altercation with a group of males near the food court on the first floor of the state’s largest mall.
At some point during the argument, Coleman armed himself with a 5.56-caliber pistol and fired towards the group of men who returned fire, WBMA reported.
Coleman was taken into custody without incident in the parking deck of the adjacent Hyatt Regency Hotel shortly after the shooting, AL.com reported.
Royta’s mother, who did not want her last name used, said she and her three children were waiting to get into Children’s Place, a child’s clothing store, AL.com reported. Because of coronavirus precautions, the store only allowed a limited number of people inside at a time.
That’s when shots rang out.
“We heard the gunshots and I grabbed them and we hit the ground,‘' the woman told AL.com. “When we all got up, (Royta) was the only one who didn’t get up.”
Suspect arrested in Alabama mall shooting that killed boy, 8, wounded three others
An 8-year-old boy died and three other people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at an Alabama mall Friday, authorities said.
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