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On December 23, Friday, 19-year-old Johntae Hudson was fatally shot multiple times after an altercation in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.
The victim's family, who identified him as a St. Paul local, has set up a GoFundMe to raise money for his funeral.
As per People News, Johntae Hudson was killed after he was caught in a fight involving two groups of young men in a Mall of America department store.
The shooting of Johntae Hudson, which occurred at approximately 8 PM, led to a lockdown that lasted two hours. Bloomington police stated that they have made five arrests in the killing. NBC reported that three of the suspects are 17, while two are 18.
At least one of the five are believed to have fired the fatal gunshots. Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said that authorities are investigating the possibility that there was more than one shooter.
Officials and family respond to the death of Johntae Hudson
In an official press release on December 24, Saturday, Hodges said that investigators have not yet determined the motivation behind the shooting.
Hodges said:
“We know the how, the where, the what and the who, we don’t know the why."
Hodges added:
"I’m fairly confident we do have the person responsible for murdering the victim in custody."
The victim's sister, Ja'Nayea Hudson, said that the group of friends her brother was with at the time of his death may have been involved in questionable activities.
Ja'Nayea Hudson told Kare11:
"They got stuff going on, but he was trying to get away from all that."
Ja'Nayea Hudson said that she had met her brother before the shooting, and that he was going to the mall to purchase a sweater.
She said:
"He came in my room yesterday to say hi to me and my son and then he left. He was funny, sometimes quiet, like everybody loved him, he was a people person, he was trying to get his own place, and apply for college."
She also described the moment she discovered that Johntae Hudson had been shot:
"At first I just hoped like it was just like a minor bullet wound or something, I didn't think nothing too serious about it until like they said they were trying to find a pulse so I just assumed the worst but I was hoping for the best."
Fox reported that the shooting is the second to take place at the Mall of America this year, after a man fired shots in a Nike store in August. This has caused concerns about gun violence at the shopping center, which is one of the state's major tourist destinations.
The fundraiser for Johntae Hudson's funeral has raised over $8000.
