Around the World: United States

Shooting in mall kills 1

Shots erupted in a packed Seattle-area shopping mall on Saturday after an apparent argument between a gunman and two other young men, killing one of the men, creating panic among shoppers and sending police on a store-to-store search for the shooter, authorities said.

The Southcenter Mall in Tukwila was locked down for six hours as police tried in vain to find the gunman. Officer Mike Murphy, a police spokesman, said there were "thousands" of shoppers at the mall when the shooting took place just before 3:45 pm. He said the gunfire may have been gang-related.

The two injured men were taken to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, where one of them died. A hospital spokesman said on Saturday night the second victim was in critical condition.

(China Daily 11/24/2008 page7)