EIGHT PEOPLE have been injured in a shooting incident at a Wisconsin mall, as local police continue their search for the suspect.

The incident took place at 2:50pm local time at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, and when police arrived shortly after, the suspect had already fled the scene.

Wauwatosa police chief Barry Weber has said that seven adults and one teenager have been injured, but none of their injuries are life-threatening.

According to Wauwatosa Police, preliminary investigations have led to the belief that the incident was not done at random, but was the result of an altercation. 

Police have stated that the suspect is a white male in his 20′s or 30′s, but they have not yet determined the man’s identity. 

According to the police, any current information surrounding the identity of the suspect is false.

Shoppers and workers took shelter inside the mall when the shooting broke out.

Shopper Jill Wooley told a local news station she was inside with her 79-year-old mother when the gunfire erupted. 

“I knew right away it was a gunshot and they just kept coming one right after the other,” Wooley told CBS affiliate WDJT. “We just dropped to the floor.”

“I think we’re all born with it,” she said. “We’ve all been exposed to public shootings like this. I think all of us have thought of what we would do in a situation like this.”

PA Images Police gather outside Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa PA Images

“We are disheartened and angered that our guests and tenants were subject to this violent incident today,” said the company who operates the mall, Brookfield Properties.

Brookfield Properties has also thanked police for their handling of the situation and that they will continue to cooperate with the investigation.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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