Members of the Oklahoma City Thunder were onsite for a movie screening at a local mall when a shooting took place. | Credit: AP/Sue Ogrocki
Members of the Oklahoma City Thunder were attending a private movie screening at a local mall on Thursday when shots were fired at a nearby shoe store.
Team security was onsite and immediately made aware of the situation. A team spokesman later told The Athletic’s Erik Horne that the Thunder players were never in danger.
The shooting took place at Penn Square Mall, located at the intersection of Oklahoma City’s Pennsylvania Ave. and Northwest Expressway, near Interstate 44.
The incident began as a disturbance between two individuals that left one of them shot in the chest, according to police. The mall was placed in lockdown almost immediately after the shooting, with patrons and employees leaving the area or sheltering in place.
Later, local ABC affiliate KOCO obtained video of the fight that may have prompted the shooting.
The victim was ultimately wheeled out of the mall on a stretcher by paramedics and is reportedly in critical condition.
Police didn’t initially identify a suspect but later described a black male wearing grey sweatpants and no shirt seen fleeing the Foot Locker inside Penn Square Mall. Authorities were still clearing the mall of people as their search for the alleged shooter unfolded.
The Thunder came back from a double-digit deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena, a 15-minute drive from Penn Square Mall. They had an off day on Thursday before another home game on Friday night against the Phoenix Suns.
Among the players in attendance for the private movie screening was center Steven Adams. He was photographed leaving the mall shortly after the shooting, holding a replica of R2-D2 from Star Wars.
The Thunder are 13-14 this season, seventh place in the Western Conference.
Gerelyn Terzo edited this article for CCN.com. If you see a breach of our Code of Ethics or Rights and Duties of the Editor or find a factual, spelling, or grammar error, please contact us.
Last modified: January 22, 2020 11:40 PM UTC
