Philadelphia DA's Office Identifies Victim Of Philadelphia Mills Shooting As Dominic Billa, Stepson Of County Detective
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police are still searching for the shooter who killed a man in the middle of a busy Philadelphia mall. The shooting happened Monday evening in a food court at Philadelphia Mills Mall.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner identified the victim as Dominic Billa, the stepson of a county detective assigned to his Homicide/Non-Fatal Shooting Unit.
"I extend my deepest condolences to our detective, and to the loved ones of Mr. Billa. We are outraged over the violence that claimed the life of this young man. Shopping malls, basketball courts, supermarkets and all spaces in our communities should be free of the threat of gun violence," Krasner said in a statement.
This is the second shooting in the mall in two months and shoppers say they are fearful of coming back.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, it took me by surprise. I didn't know what was going on," Bill Yancey said.
Shoppers left stunned after a man was shot and killed right in front of them at Philadelphia Mills Mall.
"I didn't know what to think. You don't know what to think at that time," Marcella Walls said.
Surveillance video posted to social media shows the moment the shooting happened. Police say there was a fight and at some point, someone fired their weapon. At least five shots were fired.
"Even though tragically one person was shot and killed, we're very fortunate that there were not any additional shooting victims," Philadelphia Police Chief Insp. Scott Small said.
The mall was placed on lockdown after the shooting and stayed closed for the rest of the day.
A similar incident happened back in early February, another 21-year-old man was shot in the neck while inside the mall. That man survived.
"It's kind of disturbing to see that these things happen, especially in a mall," Yancey said.
"I won't be back. I won't be back. Not for a while," Walls said.
So far this year, at least 115 people were shot and killed in the city, a sharp increase over this time last year.
Philadelphia City Council members are holding urgent hearings to address rising shootings.
Mayor Jim Kenney had this to say about the escalating gun violence in the city.
"Obviously, the violence is very upsetting and very heart-wrenching and it's affecting neighborhoods throughout the city and many, many families," Kenney said. "We're going to struggle with and continue to struggle with this problem as long as you can find a gun in Pennsylvania faster than you can get a driver's license."
The search for the shooter and a motive in the Philadelphia Mills case is continuing.
Mall officials had no comment.
CBS3's Howard Monroe and Natasha Brown contributed to this story.