Man charged with threatening violence at South Hills Village Mall

PITTSBURGH — A 51-year-old man was arrested after an incident at South Hills Village Mall, according to Bethel Park Police.

A large police presence was reported near the shopping center mid-afternoon on Tuesday.

The mall was placed under lockdown after police said a man, identified as 51-year-old Lance Crowley, made threats as he was leaving Macy’s.

People who worked at the store called police, saying Crowley had a duffel bag and threatened to start shooting people. Employees shut down the store. Crowley was seen leaving the mall, which is why they did not evacuate the entire mall.

Police said they are still investigating. Crowley was caught after police set up a perimeter around the Fine Wine and Good Spirits store.

“There’s a possible madman running around with guns in a duffel bag. You need to let your workers know through some means of communication,” said Brad Kernicky, who at the Pizza Villa in the mall food court. He said nobody told them what was happening. “I mean what if the guy made it to the mall. Like, you have workers here. You have people there that need to know.”

Police meanwhile said the entire department was mobilized to respond to the scene to make sure people stayed safe.

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Crowley was charged with felony-level making terroristic threats and public drunkenness.

Viewers sent Channel 11 photos and videos of heavily armed police officers on the mall property with long rifles.

South Hills Village Mall is owned by the same parent company as Ross Park Mall: Simon Properties. There was a shooting inside the Ross Park Mall earlier this year that prompted Simon Properties to install video cameras inside common areas at both shopping centers.

Shots fired at Ross Park Mall cause concern for shoppers months later, lead to changes for police