ORLANDO, Fla. – A man is dead and another man is in critical condition after a shooting that happened Friday night outside the Florida Mall, deputies said.
The mall is at 8001 South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando. Investigators received the first 911 call around 7:20 p.m. Friday.
Orange County deputies said one of the shooting victims, a 19-year-old man, ran for help to the front entrance to the J.C. Penney and was found by a shopper before he collapsed.
That west-side entrance to the department store was quickly closed after the shooting, covered with a security gate.
When deputies rushed to the scene, they found another man beside a car in the parking lot about 100 yards away. Deputies said he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
"We're trying to figure out if this was self-contained or if there's somebody that we should be looking for," Jane Watrel, a representative for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said.
The 19-year-old victim listed in critical condition was undergoing surgery Friday night, deputies said.
Deputies believe the shooting happened near the car but are not yet entirely sure. Investigators said nobody heard any gunshots or saw any problems before finding the deadly scene.
"No one seemed to see anything, so we're asking anyone that may have been in this area that saw some sort of altercation and didn't think twice about it, that this is critical to us to, please call Crimeline or call the Sheriff's Office," Watrel said.
Shoppers were never told anything was wrong until they walked outside and were directed to other exits.
"I did not hear anything. I just got out of J.C. Penney, and I just asked the folks what happened, and apparently, there was a shooting," said one shopper, who said his name was Leonel. "I always thought this was a secure place."
Investigators are not saying if any weapons were found at the scene.
Homicide detectives are looking at security video from the mall to try to learn what happened.
Anyone who may have witnessed this incident is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-8477 or the Orange County Sheriff's Office at 407-836-4357.
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