St. Louis County mall closed after 2 shot, 1 fatally

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- One man is dead and a second man is hospitalized after a shooting inside a large suburban St. Louis shopping mall.

The shooting happened around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the St. Louis Galleria. St. Louis County Police spokesman Ben Granda said two groups of people were involved in a dispute that led to the shooting near an escalator on the second floor.

A man described as in his early 20s was pronounced dead at the scene. The other man is hospitalized and expected to survive, Granda said.

Police were originally told it was an "active shooter" incident, but Granda said that proved wrong.

Police are searching for three or four people who fled the scene, including one man whose photo from a surveillance camera was released to the public. No arrests have been made and police were still hoping witnesses who saw what happened will come forward.

"We have a lot of people that were in the mall today. We have a lot of people that probably fled out of instinct, survival or anything else," Granda said.

The mall is among the largest in the St. Louis region.