Shootouts in shopping Maryland leave 1 dead, 3 injured

                        
Shooting: the authorities closed schools and recreation centers as a precaution

Washington - Shootings in two shopping centers in the suburbs of Washington, the US capital, left one person dead and three wounded on Friday, although it is not known if the incidents are related, and no suspect is in custody, police said.

The authorities closed schools and recreation centers as a precaution.

A confrontation led to the first shooting at the Westfield Montgomery Mall in Maryland, where two men and a woman were shot and taken to hospital, police said, and are in serious condition.

The incident was initially reported as an assault occurred near 11am local. Two of the affected people were bystanders who rescued the first victim, said the chief assistant Darryl McSwain, the Montgomery County Police.

There is no reason to believe that they knew each other, he said.

No suspect was placed in custody, but "we are looking at a potential suspect," McSwain said at a news conference.


A second shooting occurred about half an hour later caused the death of a woman in Aspen Hill Shopping Center in Silver Spring, approximately 13 kilometers away, police said Montgomery County on Twitter.