Multiple people were killed Saturday in a shooting at a Walmart store located at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, the chief of staff to the city’s mayor said.
Police responded Saturday to an active shooter in the area of the Cielo Vista Mall, they tweeted.
“Scene is still active,” police wrote at 1:03 p.m. ET, adding, “avoid the area” around Hawkins and Gateway East boulevards.
Police got reports of multiple shooters and were “conducting (a) search of a very large area,” they tweeted just after 2 p.m.
Agents from the FBI office in El Paso are responding to the incident, police said.
A second mall about 2.5 miles away from Cielo Vista is also on lockdown, according to authorities.
Scene is still Active. We have multi reports of multiple shooters. Please avoid area police conducting search of a very large area. Media staging will be given when area is secure.
— EL PASO POLICE DEPT (@EPPOLICE) August 3, 2019
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who once represented the area in Congress, asked residents to follow the directions of first responders.
“Truly heartbreaking,” O’Rourke said on Twitter. “Stay safe, El Paso.”
The scene is unfolding in the same week two employees were fatally shot at a Walmart store in Southaven, Mississippi, and three people were shot and killed at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
