The Syracuse Police Department is investigating a shots fired incident Friday afternoon at Destiny USA mall. Police say the incident occurred near the Cinnabon.
Police Chief Joe Cecile said the incident occurred around 4:12 p.m. He said the suspect was in a dispute with other individuals and walked over to a trash can and fired one round into the trash can using a handgun.
"The aim was definitely right at the trash can," Cecile told reporters at the scene. "He was likely trying to intimidate the group he had just had a dispute with, but it wasn't aimed in any direction other than that trash can."
There are no reported injuries and police say it is not an active shooter. The suspect fled the mall and is not in custody as of 5:30 p.m. Friday. Police do not have the weapon used in the incident. Cecile said they have camera footage of the suspect and believe police will get the suspect in custody. Cecile said he estimates the age of the suspect to be between 18 to 25 years old.
The mall briefly went into a shelter-in-place and eventually evacuated. The mall will be closed for the remainder of the evening.
"The safety plan worked," Cecile said. "Officers who were here on site, who work this mall were there within seconds. If there was a danger to the public they would have been there. If the individual was a shooter who was going to attempt to shoot other people, they would have been there to take care of business. Security also responded and were there within seconds. The mall did exactly what they were asked to do and what they trained to do, go into shut down mode and there were no injuries."
The investigation is ongoing. There is no further information at this time.
