PA PA

TWO PEOPLE HAVE been killed and four injured, including a police officer, in a shooting at a shopping mall in Boise, Idaho, police said.

Police on Monday evening said in a news release that the suspect was in critical condition at a hospital and that the officer who was hurt had been treated and released.

Authorities have not released any other information about the victims, officer or the suspect.

Boise Police chief Ryan Lee said the shooting was reported to law enforcement about 1.50pm on Monday local time — including a report that one person was “shot and down” at that time.

When the officers arrived, they spotted someone who matched the description of the suspect.

Lee said: “There was an exchange of gunfire that ensued shortly thereafter, resulting in the officer’s injury, as well as the suspect being taken into custody.”

He said investigators believe there was only one shooter, and there is no ongoing danger to the public.

He added: “We really cannot at this time speak to any motivation behind it.

“I cannot stress enough how traumatic this event is for the community at large, as well as for those that were witnesses, or are the families of those involved or involved themselves.”

After the shooting, several witnesses stood in the rain outside the entrance to Macy’s — one of five large department stores at the mall — waiting to be interviewed by police or told they could leave.

Patrol cars from several agencies, ambulances and fire trucks filled a section of the mall parking lot. Officers from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the investigation.

Eric Balderas, an employee at a department store at the Boise Towne Square shopping mall, rests on a police vehicle after falling while evacuating.

About a quarter of a mile away, officers closed part of a road near a busy intersection so they could investigate a second crime scene related to the shooting incident.

Officers at the second crime scene declined to answer questions about the investigation other than to confirm it was related to the shooting investigation.

Investigators were working with hospital officials to notify family members of those injured and killed in the shooting, Mr Lee said.

Boise mayor Lauren McLean asked members of the public and the news media to give the victims and their families privacy as they deal with the trauma of the shooting.

She thanked the law enforcement officers, first responders and others she said worked to keep the community safe.

“Countless people found themselves in a situation they never would have or should have expected,” McLean said, lauding the shopkeepers and others in the mall for reacting “so quickly to take care of folks that were there”.

She added: “You showed in a tough and chaotic moment how much you care and what you’re willing to do to support and care for strangers.”