GEMS said it transported three people to CaroMont Regional Medical Center with gunshot wounds. None of the injuries appeared to be life threatening. During the initial response, witnesses told officers that a possible suspect was seen running from the mall and into a nearby wooded area. Gastonia (NC) police located the 17-year-old in the wooded area, along with a nearby weapon. Police arrested the teenager without incident and after interviewing him reported him for multiple offenses related to the shooting of several victims at Eastridge Mall. Police have not released the name of the teenager who is suspected of the shootings due to his age. The Prosecutor’s Office should ask the judge for permission to charge the minor as an adult. Detectives are still working to determine the motive for the shootings. Police are also trying to determine if there is a connection between the suspect and the three people who were shot. Police now say all those injured in the shooting were shot in the mall parking lot and that the victims escaped into the mall’s dining area after being shot. Detectives have also now determined that a male victim, believed to be the fourth person to be shot in the incident and taken to a Charlotte hospital, was not shot during the incident at Eastridge Mall. This man is now believed to have been shot in a neighboring jurisdiction, according to police. Gastonia police officers with gunfire flooded the Eastridge Mall after the 911 call at 12:10 p.m. Emergency crews first spotted an adult man outside the mall near the restaurant where he was shot. Officers were informed that there were additional casualties inside the mall’s dining area. Police entered the mall and located an adult woman and an adult man who had been shot. Police then went through the mall to help employees and shoppers get out safely. “Thank God none of the injuries are life-threatening,” said Police Chief Travis Brittan. Police handed over the mall to the operation, but it was not immediately clear when the mall would reopen. Gastonia Gerardo Ugalde said he was in the DMV when he heard three to four gunshots: “Bang! Bang! Bang!” “And then people run, scream and cry,” he said. Ugalde saw two of the men shot – a young man with injuries to his arm and leg, and a young woman about the same age with a leg wound. HUNTING The GPD is investigating shootings inside Eastridge Mall in N. New Hope. 3 people shot. No active threats at this time Avoid the mall. Updates posted as confirmation information. Call rcvd at 12:10 p.m. – Gastonia Police (@GPDNC) June 10, 2022 As other people ran, “I was icy,” Ugalde said. Dallas-based Brett Benfield said he was at Bath and Body Works when staff closed the store. He and other customers waited in the back for about 20 minutes, until, as he put it, “they told us we had to evacuate.” By that time, he said, police had flooded the parking lot. Benfield said he initially believed someone had brought a gun to the mall and that others had overreacted. When he heard that three people had been shot, he was shocked. “I’m just crazy about the fact that something like this could happen in Gaston County,” Benfield said. Gazette Photo Editor Mike Hensdill saw GEMS remove two people with garnishes from the Food Court’s side of the mall. The DMV office is located near the Food Court of the mall. Forty or more officers responded to the scene, including regular teams. You can contact Kevin Ellis at 704-201-7016 or email him at [email protected]