Dressing-Area Exit Gave Mall Shooting Suspects a Way Out

Dressing-Area Exit Gave Mall Shooting Suspects a Way Out

By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 28, 2008; C04

Two suspects who led Montgomery County police on a chase through a Macy's store in Wheaton on Tuesday escaped through an emergency exit in a dressing room area, police said yesterday.

Detectives continued to look for the duo and at least two others who might be involved in what police are calling a gang-related shooting in a parking lot outside the store.

The detectives are studying surveillance videos. One shows three males and a female -- all believed to be affiliated with the same gang -- following another group across the parking lot at the Westfield Wheaton Shopping Centre. Two of the suspects fired shots at the other group. One member of the rival group was wounded. Two female bystanders were injured slightly by flying glass from a nearby automobile.

Another video shows three males and a female entering the department store, walking past racks of clothes and a couple of people who seem at ease.

One of the suspects appears to be holding a white foam food container. Another sips a bottled drink. Three officers enter the store, clearly in pursuit.

Another video, taken near a dressing room, shows two men running into the dressing room. An officer in pursuit can be seen approaching the dressing room but stopping short.

Lt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman, said the officers showed proper restraint, given the blind corner they faced and the presence of armed suspects and innocent bystanders.

"We're not trained to rush into places under those circumstances," Starks said.

The duo in the dressing room used an emergency exit door and fired one round -- an apparent accidental discharge -- in the process, police said. Officers found two guns in the dressing area, one of which was determined to be stolen.

Two or three hours after the chase, police arrested a 19-year-old man carrying a stolen gun at the store. Police no longer believe he was linked to the parking lot shooting.

Police provided the following descriptions of four people who they say were in the group in the parking lot:

· A black male, 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, weighing 160 pounds with short black hair. He appeared to be 18 to 22 years old and was wearing a yellow hooded jacket with black sides, tan cargo pants and white tennis shoes. Police said he might have been one of the shooters.

· A black male, 6 feet to 6-foot-1, wearing a black jacket and jeans with stonewashed fronts. Police said he also might have been a shooter.

· A black male, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8, weighing 160 to 170 pounds, who appeared to be in his early 20s. He was wearing a green jacket and a black knit cap with a white circle near the top of the cap.

· A black female with a light complexion, 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-6, weighing 120 pounds, who appeared to be 16 to 20 years old. She was wearing a white, gray and black medium-length North Face jacket with jeans and black shoes.

Police ask that anyone with information about the incident call 240-773-5530.