PHOENIX — Valentine's Day brought another shooting to Desert Sky Mall, leaving 17-year-old Alejandro Martinez dead and business owners wondering "not again."
“It happened quite a few times here, this is not the first time,” Michael Woo, who runs a business inside the mall, said.
Sunday's shooting came after police said two men got into an argument with a kiosk employee.
Police said both the employee and one of the men pulled out a gun and "exchanged fire." The two men were hit.
A 20-year-old is in critical condition but is expected to survive, while 17-year-old Martinez died at the hospital.
The employee was initially detained, but no arrest has been made.
Witnesses said the fight began at a kiosk that normally sells shoes.
The shooting marks at least the third time in the last 15 months that there was a shooting on the property of Desert Sky Mall.
Back on Dec. 23, 38-year-old Richard Ruiz shot two people outside the mall and hijacked a red pick-up truck. Police later killed Ruiz in the parking lot.
Last March, police arrested 27-year-old Daymond Deray Hayes after he shot and killed a 15-year-old.
Sunday's shooting marked the latest incident at Desert Sky Mall that sent shoppers running for their lives.
“You don’t know if you want to stay open for the business or to just close. It’s horrible it’s horrible,” Woo said.
“The mall should step up its security. With the budget cuts, the security is not walking around as much as before,” Woo said.
12 News went to the management of Desert Sky Mall to ask about Sunday's incident and how they planned to keep shoppers safe. A person answered the office door, but refused to answer questions, telling 12 News "no comment."
