This afternoon, the City of El Paso Police department held a press conference to give updates regarding yesterday’s shooting at Cielo Vista Mall that left 1 person dead and three injured.
Peter Pacillas, Interim Cheif of the El Paso Police Department, said there was an altercation between two groups in the food court of the mall, which led to shots being fired.
“At 5:08, there was an off-duty [El Paso Police] Officer working a security detail for one of the stores in the mall. [He] was already on scene [and] took one person in custody. No officers were injured, and no officers fired their weapons,” he said.
According to Pacillas, at least three people, not including the off-duty officer, were legally armed with handguns in the area of the incident.
“This is a random incident encounter between two groups. And I want to emphasize this, this is a random incident that occurred between two groups at the mall,” he said.
Pacillas said the incident does not appear to be gang-related, and those involved in the altercation all range in age from late teens to early 20s. Whether the two groups knew each other is still under investigation, according to Pacillas. Two people are currently in custody, according to police.
