CONCORD — Police are investigating reports of a shooting at Sunvalley Shopping Center on Friday afternoon, according to authorities.
Donna Piper, a Martinez resident, said she was at the mall to exchange a few Christmas presents when she heard gunfire ring out at around 3:20 p.m. on the first floor of the shopping center near the food court.
“There was blood all over the floor,” she said.
Piper said she was inside a luggage store when she heard gunshots and ran to the back into a closet with four other people, including the store owner, after they locked the door and pulled down the gate. The store owner’s husband told them that he’d seen a body on the ground with blood everywhere, according to Piper. She was led out the back entrance of the mall and left the shopping center around 4:20 p.m. There were upward of 10 police cars at the scene.
One person was shot at about 3:45 p.m. and taken to the hospital, according to ABC7 News.
“This is so scary, crazy,” she said. “You see this on TV and you just don’t think anything like this could happen.”
Sunvalley mall in concord evacuated due to a shooting 😩 pic.twitter.com/ExzvhM3oLa
— Yealenne (@Yealenne) January 1, 2022
Piper also said she witnessed an argument in the area of the shooting.
“I didn’t think anything of it,” she said. “I was reading a tag on the luggage when two minutes later — gunshot. I looked out into the mall and people were running.”
Concord police confirmed the shooting and said the mall was on lockdown, according to social media posts. Authorities said there wasn’t any current “threat to the public” and advised people to avoid the area.
Police haven’t released information about suspects or the victim’s current condition.
Fire crews also responded to the scene. Patrol cars were lined up outside the JC Penney store.
Source: www.mercurynews.com