MONROEVILLE, Pa. — Two people were taken into custody and one person was hurt after shots were fired Friday evening during a drug deal in the parking lot of Monroeville Mall, police said.
Authorities said a patrolling Monroeville police officer happened to be driving around the mall when he heard gunshots at 4:11 p.m. in the area of the Goodyear store, which is near the Monroeville Mall. Police said they began to receive calls for reports of shots fired, with people fleeing into the mall for safety.
Authorities found a window at the Goodyear had been pierced by the gunfire, and there were multiple vehicles in the mall parking lot that had bullet holes in them.
Officers took the two people -- one of whom was 26-year-old Rodney Taylor, of Mount Oliver -- into custody outside the mall, officials said. When the shooting started, Taylor ran into the Macy’s before going out a back door.
Investigators said they collected 20 shell casings and the crime scene stretched several thousands of yards from the Park and Ride stop to the Goodyear store.
A third person arrived at UPMC East Hospital just before 4:30 p.m. with gunshot wounds that he admitted he had suffered during the shooting near the Goodyear store, police said. Officials had initially said that two people had been shot.
Monroeville police said the man had been shot multiple times in the legs but his injuries were described as non-life-threatening.
Stacey Keating, general manager of Monroeville Mall, said the mall remained open and there was no reason for a lockdown.
The Allegheny County Crime Laboratory processed the scene and Monroeville police reviewed surveillance video and interviewed witnesses.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Monroeville police at 412-856-1111.