Gunfire between two vehicles in a parking lot of Ellenton Premium Outlets sent the mall into a temporary lockdown on Sunday afternoon, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said.
The shooting was reported around 4:40 p.m. in the mall’s east parking lot.
“From what I’m hearing, it was all very quick,” sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren said. “They shot at each other and then they both fled out of the area.”
Warren said no shots were fired in or near stores, and no injuries have been reported.
Mall security issued a shelter-in-place warning to customers and staff that lasted for about a half an hour while law enforcement investigated the shooting, Warren said.
Then the mall went back to regular operations.
Warren said detectives are following several leads in search of the vehicles and their occupants.
A shooting in the mall’s parking lot last July led to three teens getting charged with attempted murder.