Crime & Safety
Shots Fired In Garden State Plaza
More than 1,000 remained on lockdown inside the mall late Monday.
By Jim Leggate, Devin McGinley, Rob Heinemann and Noah Cohen
An armed man fired at least five shots Monday night in the upper level of the Garden State Plaza.
Mall workers said they heard two series of shots — bursts of three and two — before being ordered to evacuate the mall. There are no reports of any casualties.
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They described the gunman as wearing black leather clothing, a backpack, and a motorcycle helmet, and carrying a “large gun.” They detailed a chaotic scene of taking cover in stores between the two bursts of gunfire.
The mall was locked down as heavily-armed officers began approaching the building shortly before 10pm.
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Clarice Forbes, of Paterson, and who works at Talbots, said he saw the man walk by shooting a rifle straight into air.
“It was very very terrifying, very scary,” Forbes said.
County Spokeswoman Jeanne Baratta said that SWAT teams have been activated.
Ben Fastman, who manages a kiosk selling hair products, said people were running past his kiosk and screaming “there’s shooting, there’s shooting.”Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
