Holiday weekend: over 500 shootings reported over Independence Day weekend in 2024
The shooting at the Fairlane Town Center sent mall patrons scrambling and prompted an evacuation, police said. A video posted to social media appeared to show people running from the shopping center after gunshots could be heard.
Police said members of both groups involved in the altercation had handguns. Issa Shahin, the Dearborn police chief, said the altercation was not a random act and that people believed to be linked to the fight were being questioned at the police station. No one was immediately taken into custody, he said.
One of the victims died at the mall and the other died at a nearby hospital. Details on the condition of the third person who was shot were not released.
Tyhrann Howard, a Michigan State Police specialist lieutenant, said the agency was assisting with the investigation and referred questions to the Dearborn police. A person who answered the phone at mall security declined to comment, according to The Guardian.
Fairlane Town Center, a shopping mall with more than 125 stores and restaurants, remained closed while police conducted their investigation. Dearborn is a suburb of Detroit with a population of more than 100,000, located about nine miles west of Detroit.
The shooting came at the start of the Fourth of July weekend, a period that historically sees elevated rates of gun violence across the United States. In 2024, the Gun Violence Archive reported more than 500 shootings over Independence Day weekend.