Two people were injured in the Westfield Valley Fair shopping mall shooting on Black Friday

Black Friday shoppers were sent for cover after a shooting at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara left two injured, police said.

Two people were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds, according to the San Jose Police Department, which did not immediately release further information.

Police at Westfield Valley Fair Mall after a shooting on Black Friday.

(Sean Colasingham)

Sean Colasingham, 23, was at the mall with his family when he said he heard a loud noise at 5:35 p.m., then saw a “sea of ​​people” running in every direction through the mall.

“It was a shock,” he said by phone a few hours later. “It almost shook the building.”

Kolasingam grabbed his sister and father and took them to a nearby store that looked safe, an Abercrombie and Fitch. They hid behind clothing racks and shelves while people panicked, he said.

They spent about 20 minutes in the store before staff asked them to leave in single file with police protection. The parking lot was a mess, Kolasingham said, and he forgot his Black Friday bar — a coat he’d bought — back at the Abercrombie store.

“The panic was palpable. It’s a really difficult thing to happen during the holiday season,” said Colasingham, a former congressional staffer. He said the shooting at a mall in his hometown, along with the recent killing of a member of the National Guard in D.C., was tolerable.

At least 20 shoppers were forced into a stocking closet at Bloomingdale’s by store security, along with Bilal Zubari and his wife, who posted about the incident on X. He didn’t hear the shots, but said there was general panic and an overhead announcement told them the doors were locked and they had to stay where they were.

They tried not to panic and talk about the shooting because there were children there, Zuberi said.

He said, the police allowed them to leave the store and mall at 7 pm. Traffic was backed up from all exits as hundreds of people tried to get out, he said.

“Thank you to the police, first responders, and mall workers who may have been scared themselves but stepped in to guide people to safety, manning the escalators so no one could pass the floors,” he responded in a direct message to The Times.

Westfield Valley Mall patrons leave after shooting.

(Sean Colasingham)

Emergency dispatch calls to police and fire departments at 5:55 p.m. said two to three people were injured and the shooter was still on the run. Multiple calls beginning at 5:35 p.m. detailed multiple people taking shelter at the scene and reporting gunshot wounds and blood flowing from Messi.

In a later post at 6:31 p.m., the city department said there was no longer an operator.

Officers arrived at the chaotic scene according to their radio dispatch feeds.

“We have a lot of people crossing the road,” an emergency responder radioed. Escaping supporters caused a traffic jam as they crossed the road near the mall.

Police said the shooting appears to be an isolated incident, and people should avoid the area.