One person was shot outside Ross Park Mall in Ross Township on Tuesday night, police said.  

Brian Kohlhepp, the deputy chief of the Ross Township Police Department, said one person was injured in the shooting, which happened around 8 p.m. Police said on Tuesday night that "multiple people" were involved, but could not provide specifics. Police have not publicly identified anyone tied to the shooting, but Kohlhepp said on Wednesday that investigators know some juveniles were involved. 

Authorities said the shooting, which was described as an exchange of gunfire, happened in the parking lot between the Nordstrom and Dick's Sporting Goods stores. A witness told police they heard about four gunshots. However, a Dick's Sporting Goods employee told KDKA he heard about 10 gunshots.

"All I hear is a bunch of gunshots and a bunch of screaming," the employee said.

The age and the condition of the person shot were not immediately released by law enforcement. No arrests have been made, and police did not say if there were any suspects. Kohlhepp added on Wednesday that police located a Kia minivan in connection with the shooting.  

"City of Pittsburgh Police located that car for us, and we were able to get a search warrant to bring that car in. That's in our custody right now at our evidence processing bay," he said

The mall was open when the shooting happened. Kohlhepp said he believes the stores followed the mall's shelter-in-place protocol. The mall was then evacuated once the scene was deemed safe, Kohlhepp said. 

A spokesperson for the mall said on Wednesday that it is "committed to maintaining a strong security program at Ross Park Mall. This includes 24/7/365 video and operational surveillance, license plate readers as well as a specially trained K9 and armed handler on-site." 

The spokesperson added that additional security will be used "out of an abundance of caution." 

Following reports of shots being fired in the mall in 2021, security cameras were added to the property. Ross Township police have access to the cameras, which are wired into the headquarters for Simon Property Group, which owns the mall.  

"There's been a dramatic increase in security since that," Kohlhepp said on Tuesday. "We really haven't had any major incidents, certainly anything like this, since that time." 

Witness said mall shooting sounded like fireworks 

A witness told KDKA-TV on Wednesday that she was shopping inside the Dick's store on Tuesday night when she heard what sounded like fireworks. She then heard people screaming.

The woman said her car was parked next to another vehicle that was hit by a stray bullet.

Now, many shoppers said they plan to take extra precautions while they're out. Other said they already have been.

"I make sure I'm well aware of my surroundings. I make sure that I look around me before I get in my car. I look in my car. behind me. I really do. I have been taking a lot more precautions," Judy Raynolds said.

Kohlhepp said the mall is open and is safe for people to come out and shop.

The Pennsylvania State Police, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office were among the law enforcement agencies to respond on Tuesday night.