DES PERES, Mo. — A 21-year-old St. Louis man has been arrested and charged with fatally shooting a Florissant man Saturday night at West County Center mall in Des Peres.
Jason Hill, deemed a person of interest Sunday morning, was taken into custody by Major Case Squad (MCS) investigators. He was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Malachi Maclin, 20, according to the MCS of Greater St. Louis.
Hill is also charged with armed criminal action and is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond.
Maclin was transported to a St. Louis area hospital where he was pronounced dead Saturday evening.
An altercation between the two men just after 6 p.m. preceded the shooting at the mall Saturday. The gunfire sent a wave of fear through the shopping center and prompted a response of dozens of police from several area agencies.
Eric Hall, the director of the Des Peres Department of Public Safety, said officers initially responded around 6:20 p.m. to the shopping center on Manchester Road near Interstate 270.
"(An) initial investigation revealed that an altercation occurred between two subjects in one of the stores at West County Center and shots were fired," Hall said in a news release.
Officer Scott Stephens of the Major Case Squad confirmed Sunday that the incident was believed to be an isolated event involving an altercation.
Hill's mugshot was released Monday afternoon.
MCS investigators still are requesting any witnesses to the incident to contact the Des Peres Police Department at 314-835-6200 or Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-8477.
A spokesman with the mall said West County Center will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday as originally planned, though store hours may vary.
Louis Mitauer, 16, who was shopping with a friend inside Hot Topic, said he heard as many as eight gunshots.
Initially, he thought the sound was made by something that had dropped inside the food court, which is directly outside the store.
Mitauer's friend, Dominic Luciano, also 16, said the Hot Topic employees calmly led them to the back of the store.
"We were all calm — or as calm as we could be. ... We sat back there for 45 minutes until police opened the back emergency entrance," he said.
An employee of AKIRA, a women's clothing store, said glass windows were shot out at the store, as well as at nearby Build-A-Bear Workshop and Champ's Sports. She, other employees and customers were barricaded inside AKIRA for more than an hour.
Nicole Guccione, of Cottleville, said she dropped her daughter off about 10 minutes before the shooting was reported.
Guccione said her daughter called her from the back of American Eagle, where she was barricaded with about 30 other employees and shoppers.
"I'm just trying to hold in my tears. She's safe, and we've been in contact with her," she said.
About three months ago to the day, multiple law enforcement agencies responded to another shooting at the mall. An argument between two groups of people resulted in a shot being fired.
An employee of a store inside the mall who wanted to remain anonymous said she was at the mall when April's shooting happened. She praised the response by officers to Saturday's shooting.
"This time it seemed a bit more organized. The officers had us go out the back of our store. They went to each store individually. They all were on high alert but organized," she said.
"It's sad that it keeps happening. It's really unfortunate, and I hope it doesn't happen again," Luciano said.
About 90 minutes away in Springfield, Ill., one person was injured when shots were fired inside White Oaks Mall around 6 p.m. Saturday.
That person was taken to an area hospital with injures that are not considered life-threatening, Springfield police said.
Statement from West County Center:
"The incident that took place on Saturday was tragic and our thoughts and prayers are with the victim, his family, and friends during this difficult time.
We maintain a close working relationship with the Des Peres Police Department, which includes a police substation on our property. Additionally, we have a state of the art security camera system that covers the interior and exterior of the property. Des Peres Police used footage from our camera system to quickly identify the suspect and he has since been taken into custody. We take the concerns of the community very seriously and will continue to evaluate our security measures to make any necessary updates."