16-year-old girl shot at Danbury Fair Mall

A 16-year-old girl was shot inside the Danbury Fair Mall near the Macy's department store around 7:00 p.m. Wednesday evening. Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour said at a press conference Wednesday night that police believe the victim was an innocent bystander who got caught in the middle of an altercation between two groups of people. 

Officers who arrived on the scene found the girl alert and conscious with a gunshot wound to her upper chest. The victim was taken by ambulance to Danbury Hospital. Her condition is unknown at this time and her identity is being withheld.

"We are being told that one person was running from the scene with hammer in hand. That person may have been the target of the shots fired," Ridenhour said. 

Police obtained video footage of the shooter fleeing the mall shortly after the shooting, though they have not yet been able to identify the suspect. Ridenhour said the Danbury Police are working with state, local and federal partners to enhance the video and that, "we're confident we'll be able to identify them."

Once police confirmed that the suspect was no longer in the mall, they transitioned to getting all mall patrons out of the building. 

"These are very trying circumstances," Ridenhour said, adding that customers did very well cooperating with police and finding safety during lockdown. "Hopefully they'll never have to go through something like this again. We are confident that we'll get all the info we need to identify the shooter and bring him to justice."

Ridenhour said that police believe the shooting to be an isolated incident.

This story will be updated.