The South Bay’s largest mall, Westfield Valley Fair Mall, was temporarily closed until noon Saturday during the investigation of a shooting that led to the evacuation of thousands of Black Friday shoppers. A man was shot during an argument with the suspect, and two bystanders were also shot.

Update: The mall reopened Saturday at noon, per KRON4. “For those that left a vehicle overnight, you may retrieve it from the property at your earliest convenience,” the mall said on social media. The mall’s lost-and-found is located on the third floor across from Security Dispatch.

Update 2: As KRON4 reports via San Jose police, the incident is believed to have been gang-related.

The shooting happened around 5:30 pm Friday, November 28, as KPIX reports, in front of the Macy’s on the second floor of the Westfield Valley Fair Mall — which sits on the Santa Clara-San Jose border. Three people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, including the man involved in an altercation with the suspect, as well as two bystanders — a woman and a 16-year-old girl. The suspect fled the scene before authorities arrived and is still at large, per KRON4.

Eye witnesses in the below video segments describe mass panic as shoppers ran to the exits or ducked inside stores or under nearby structures.

“We were just all sitting at a table, chilling together, and then all of  a sudden, we start hearing, like, pop sounds, several pop sounds. And we start seeing people running," witness Sumaya Alqadhy told NBC Bay Area. “As soon as we made it outside, the shots came outside. So now we're hearing multiple back-to-back shots, and we start running in multiple directions.”

“We all started running, and then we came to the parking lot. Everybody was running, screaming, and crying,” witness Armando told KPIX. “Probably like 20 minutes after, we see a guy walk out with a wound on his chest, and he was bleeding. That’s when we knew this was real.”

“I just tried to find a spot to hide. People were going under the tables. I went also under the tables and waited there probably five minutes,” witness Emily Sanchez told KPIX. “I was just looking at people’s faces and looking how scared they were.”

“There was so much chaos, and even a lot of people were getting injured running on the way out because there was a really narrow bottle-neck at the exits to the point where we got separated,” witness Ali Danesh told NBC Bay Area. “Even though I was with a group, with my family members, they were separated into the back of the Gap store.”

Per KGO, staff and shoppers who were barricaded inside the mall during the investigation were escorted through Macy’s by law enforcement with machine guns around 6:30 pm.

“This shooting appears to be an isolated incident and NOT an active shooter,” San Jose police wrote in a social media post, per KRON4. “However, officers are evacuating and clearing the mall to confirm there is no ongoing threat to public safety.”

Shoppers involved in Friday’s incident say they might be avoiding malls for the foreseeable future. “I’m only online shopping now,” witness Neema told NBC Bay Area. “Why come to the mall if this is an actual possibility.”

“I’m 28 years old, and I feel like I’ve experienced a lot,” Ali Danesh told NBC Bay Area. “There’s nothing that equates to a life or death situation like this, when you are dealing with the unknown, and you’re dealing with an unknown threat, and you see the mass hysteria around you. It’s terrifying. It’s soul-crushing.”

Residents are asked to continue avoiding the area as the investigation is ongoing. Per NBC Bay Area, mall security will also be boosting patrols when the mall re-opens.

“We can say for a matter of fact that this was not unsuspected shoppers that were targeted, this was an isolated incident with two individuals, and unfortunately two others were injured,” said Sergeant Jorge Garibay of the San Jose Police Department, per KGO. “And this shouldn't stop people from enjoying their holiday."

“San Jose - this is not the news I wanted to share with you this holiday weekend,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on social media. My prayers are with these victims and I know our officers are doing everything they can to find the person responsible and hold them accountable.”

Image: Katedief/Wikimedia