No fewer than three persons sustained gunshot injuries after a young man brandishing an AR-15 rifle shot his way into a shopping center in Glendale, U.S.
The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Armando Junior Hernandez, was described by Arizona State Senator Martin Quezada as an “armed terrorist.”
The police had to rush down to the Westgate Shopping Mall in Glendale, Arizona following reports of the shooting which was being filmed on Snapchat and circulating social media.
In the Snapchat video, Hernandez identifies himself, shows his gun, and then says: “Hello, I’m going to be the shooter of Westgate 2020. This is to get back at mean society. So, let’s get this done.”
After saying the above words, the young man is shown exiting the car before loud gunshots reverberate in the air. Disclosing the terrifying incident online, Senator Quezada wrote:
I just witnessed an armed terrorist with an AR-15 shoot up Westgate. There are multiple victims. I saw 2 victims with my own eyes. Not sure how many others. I saw the shooter. Being told not to say anything else about details ’til I speak to police. I’m ok. Lots of shaken up people.”
Later reports confirmed that three persons had been injured in the shooting and that the weapon used by the gunman is an AR-15 style rifle. A tweet by the police at the time reads:
Please stay out of the #Westgate area. Preliminary info from our dispatch is there were at least two persons struck by gunfire and one person is in custody. PIO is enroute to the scene. Media staging for now will be West of the Arena.
Update: there are no more reports of any active shooting. One suspect is in custody. We are shutting down the Westgate area to ensure everyone is safe. Media staging will be at Cabelas parking lot.”
The suspect has been taken into custody. The footing of the occurrence is available for viewing below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAcLaUmjr4U/?utm_source=ig_embed
