Black Friday Shooting at Westfield Valley Fair Mall Leaves Three Injured
Black Friday shoppers were sent scrambling for cover after shots were fired at the Westfield Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara, injuring three, police said. The incident occurred on the second floor of Macy’s, with multiple people running across the street and causing a traffic jam.
Three people were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening gunshot wounds, according to the San José Police Department. Injured were an adult man, an adult woman, and a 16-year-old girl, department spokesman Sgt. Jorge Garibay said in media interviews at the scene. The two female victims were believed to be bystanders and were “unrelated to the incident.”
Police at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall after a shooting on Black Friday.
(Shawn Kulasingham)
Witness Accounts and Response
Shawn Kulasingham, 23, was at the mall with family when he said he heard a loud pop around 5:35 p.m., then saw a “sea of humans” running in every direction in the mall. “It was a stampede,” he said by phone a few hours later. “The building was almost shaking.”
Kulasingham grabbed his sister and father and ducked into the nearest store that looked secure, an Abercrombie & Fitch. They hid behind clothing racks and cabinets while people panicked, he said. They spent about 20 minutes inside the store before staff asked them to leave in a single-file line with a police escort.
Patrons of the Westfield Valley Mall exit after the shooting.
(Shawn Kulasingham)
Investigation and Response
Emergency dispatch calls to the police and fire departments at 5:55 p.m. said there were two to three injured people and the shooter was still at large. Multiple calls starting around 5:35 p.m. detailed that multiple people were sheltering in place and reported bullet casings and a trail of blood from Macy’s, dispatchers said.
Police said the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident, and that people should avoid the area. “My prayers are with the victims and I know our officers are doing everything they can to find the person responsible and hold them accountable,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in an X post.
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