ANNAPOLIS, Md. An off-duty U.S. Secret Service agent was shot after he intervened in a fight in a shopping mall food court, then returned fire and wounded the gunman, police said. One other person was shot during the Saturday night melee, which sent shoppers ducking under tables and running for cover. The agent and the gunman were airlifted to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Their injuries were not life threatening, police said. The third wounded person, 16-year-old Tahzay Brown, was treated at Anne Arundel Medical Center for a gunshot wound to his leg. He was released before midnight Saturday, said Martha Harlan, a hospital spokeswoman. There had been no arrests by early Sunday morning. | The agent was at the Westfield Annapolis mall with his family when he saw a group of men attacking another man. The agent tried to break up the fight, and someone in the group drew a gun and started firing. "He ran across the food court with his gun and was shooting at people," witness Lindsay Busch said. |
The mall was closed shortly after the shooting, and shoppers were ordered to leave over the public address system. Police tape was strewn around the food court, where meals sat unfinished on tables and personal property was left behind. Several tables were overturned, with food and drinks spilled on the floor. Scott deGraffenreid, the mall's marketing director, said video surveillance footage of the scene was turned over to police. He said mall management would not comment on the incident, citing the ongoing investigation.