OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Ocala’s Paddock Mall reopened to shoppers Tuesday following a deadly shooting on Saturday.
Mall security told 352today that the mall would open at its scheduled time of 10 a.m.
Management also posted to the mall’s Facebook page updating consumers who may be looking to return/exchange unwanted Christmas gifts or spend the gift cards they received.
Due to the shooting, the mall did not reopen on Sunday for the traditional last-minute Christmas Eve shopping scramble.
When gunfire erupted in the common area outside Macy’s department store, the crowd scrambled for safety, leaving less important items behind.
Some people who had dropped off their gifts to be wrapped at the makeshift kiosk in the court where the shooting happened may not have retrieved their gifts in time for Christmas morning. The gift-wrapping station is a fundraiser for family violence prevention services of the Marion County Children’s Alliance. On Christmas Eve, the group posted on Facebook thanking customers for their patience and instructing them to call 352-875-1248 to coordinate getting their gifts.
Meantime, the search for the suspected shooter continues. On Christmas Day, the Ocala Police Department (OPD) identified 39-year-old Albert Shell Jr. as the gunman in the shooting that killed one and injured another.
Police say 40-year-old David Nathaniel Barron died in the shooting and they believe it was a ‘targeted act of violence.’
OPD is offering a reward of $5,000 for information that leads to Shell’s arrest.
You can submit a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Marion County by calling 352-368-STOP (7867) or dial **TIPS on your cell phone. Tips can also be submitted online here.
