BRANDON, Fla. — A shooting inside Dick’s House of Sport at the Brandon Exchange Mall left one person dead Thursday afternoon, and two others are now in custody as investigators work to piece together what happened.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said gunfire broke out just before 4:30 p.m., prompting more than 30 deputies to respond to the scene. An employee called 911 shortly after the shooting, reporting that a person had been shot inside a fitting room in the store.
Surveillance Footage Shows Three Entering, Two Leaving
While the investigation remains in its early stages, detectives said surveillance video from inside the store showed three people walking in together and heading toward the fitting room area. Moments later, the footage showed only two people running out of the fitting room and toward the parking lot, right around the same time the 911 call came in.
Deputies arriving on scene located those two individuals in the parking lot and took them into custody without further incident.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister addressed the shooting in a statement, saying there is no tolerance for violence in the county, especially in places where families gather to shop and spend time together. He credited deputies’ training with allowing them to respond quickly, secure the scene, detain the people involved within minutes, and restore order to what he called a dangerous situation.
Investigation Continues as Search Warrants Are Processed
As of Thursday evening, authorities had not released the identity of the person who died or named the two people detained in connection with the shooting. Investigators are still working through search warrants as part of the ongoing case and have not said what led up to the gunfire.
The sheriff’s office also has not confirmed exactly how many people were inside the store at the time shots were fired. Officials did confirm that store employees are safe and that the mall itself was never placed on lockdown or evacuated during the incident, allowing normal operations to continue in the surrounding shopping center even as the investigation unfolded at the sporting goods store.
Investigators have not released a motive for the shooting or clarified the relationship, if any, between the person who died and the two people who were detained. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said additional details will be released as the investigation progresses, and it is expected that formal charges, if any, will follow once search warrants are executed and evidence from the scene is reviewed.
This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
