2 in custody after shooting at Pembroke Lakes Mall

PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - Police took two people into custody after a shooting inside a jewelry store at Pembroke Lakes Mall in Pembroke Pines.

Pembroke Pines Police and Fire Rescue crews responded to the mall, located at 11401 Pines Blvd., at around 2:20 p.m. Friday.

7SkyForce HD hovered over the scene near Dillard’s where several police cruisers and rescue units could be seen parked outside of the mall.

The shooting reportedly stemmed from a robbery or attempted robbery at a jewelry store near Dillard’s.

“We had two adult male suspects enter into the mall, and they specifically went into the Elite Fine Jewelry business within the mall,” Pembroke Pines Police Capt. Eric Abrahamson said.

Officials said one of the subjects started smashing display cases while the other grabbed merchandise.

“At that time, an adult male, who’s an employee of the victim business, drew a firearm and began firing at the two suspects,” Abrahamson said.

“Yeah, we heard it. It was definitely in front of our store. It was at a jewelry store a couple stores down from ours,” said Devin Lewis, who works at Jimmy Jazz.

Police reiterated the witness reports and said that the owner of the jewelry store opened fire.

“Both suspects were struck by gunfire and fled,” Abrahamson said.

The witnesses who heard the gunfire ran for cover.

“They were running out, they were running across. It was like, you could see the fear in our eyes, and it was kind of like, we knew it was a gunshot,” Lewis said.

“Pembroke Pines Police responded and ultimately rendered aid to both suspects within the mall and took them into custody,” Abrahamson said.

Both subjects were taken to an area hospital. Officials said there are no other suspects believed to be at large.

Cellphone video showed food wasted on the food court floor, as people ran for their lives.

One of the witnesses said she ran for cover with her children and hid for 20 minutes.

“We were sitting down eating, and they asked us to run and hide to the back, like we didn’t know what was going on, and to get away from the windows, so,” Andrea Lighdell said, “I gotta say, they did a really good job, though.”

Another witness, who said she was working at the time of the shooting, said only hearing a few shots was enough for her to run outside the mall with everyone else.

“It was just like five or six shots, and I just see people running, so I ran outside. I’m not gonna ask questions first, I’m just gonna run first and ask questions later,” Chris Bailey said.

Police have not released the names of the subjects nor what charges they’ll face.

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