Some New York Giants players were inside the Mall of America during a deadly shooting Friday night at the nation's largest shopping center.
A 19-year-old man was killed during the shooting, which sent the mall into a lockdown, according to police in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Pat Hanlon, the Giants' executive vice president of communications, told The Associated Press that the team was staying at a hotel adjacent to the mall.
Longtime Giants radio play-by-play announcer Bob Papa tweeted that he also was inside the mall during the shooting.
Scary here @mallofamerica. Shooting in mall. On lockdown at #TwinCitiesGrill. Two gunmen at least one victim.
— Bob Papa (@BobPapa_NFL) December 24, 2022
"Your first thought is, obviously, once yourself is safe, you think about your teammates," wide receiver Darius Slayton said after the Giants' 27-24 loss to the Vikings on Saturday. "There's guys that could have been shopping. Some guys in their room, some people are everywhere. So, obviously, your next thought is all your teammates are OK, which they were.''
Slayton was one of the many players in the team's meal room. The group was locked in the room for nearly 30 minutes, according to Slayton.
"Just had to stay put," said running back Saquon Barkley, who said he was also in the meal room. "I think there was a couple guys in the mall. I'm not quite sure exactly who. But it's a crazy world out there.''
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said a bystander's jacket was also grazed by a bullet during the shooting at the mall's Nordstrom location.
There appeared to be some type of altercation between two groups, and at one point, someone pulled out a gun and shot the victim multiple times, the chief said. The entire incident, which happened around 7:50 p.m., lasted about 30 seconds.
The mall is expected to reopen Saturday but the Nordstrom store will remain closed, Hodges said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
