Video of Bay Area mall shooting could help police identify suspects

Investigators are reviewing video to identify two people who opened fire on each other inside a California mall, wounding two teenagers before fleeing, police said Wednesday.

The people were being sought after the Tuesday shooting that caused panic, shut down a train station and scrambled rush-hour commuter traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Bruno Police Lt. Ryan Johansen said.

Evidence shows there were two groups of young people fighting on the second floor of the Shops at Tanforan when a member from each group pulled a gun and began shooting at the other, Johansen said.

Detectives believe the victims were with the groups and not bystanders, he said.

Both injured boys were in serious condition but expected to fully recover, police said Wednesday.

Authorities haven’t released a motive for the attack.

Officers evacuated hundreds of people hiding inside the mall and searched the building and surrounding properties but didn’t find the shooters or the weapons, Johansen said. Both shooters may have fled on a train.

The station, adjacent to the mall, was closed for several hours before service resumed shortly after 8 p.m., authorities said.

Police also briefly closed the 12th Street Oakland Station across San Francisco Bay while officers searched a train, Bay Area Rapid Transit said.

The shooting followed a June 3 attack that left one man wounded in a Torrance mall.

A gang member has been charged in the shooting at Del Amo Fashion Center, one of the nation’s largest malls.

Prosecutors said Jose Manuel Salazar, a 22-year-old gang member from Bellflower, had been charged with attempted murder and other crimes. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.