By Daniel Arkin and Becky Bratu, NBC News
A New Jersey mall remained on lockdown Monday night after a man — dressed in all black, wearing a helmet and armed with a rifle, according to witnesses — fired “several shots” inside, police said.
Earlier, Paramus Mayor Rich LaBarbiera said only one shell casing had been recovered from inside Garden State Plaza Mall, but Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said in a statement the gunman had fired several shots around 9:19 p.m.
NBC New York
Police surround the Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J., after reports of a shooting on Monday, Nov. 4.
There were no reported injuries or casualties at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus but the suspected gunman was on the loose, Paramus mayor Richard LaBarbiera said at a late night news conference. He said police found only one shell casing.
With the mall still on lockdown, police were combing the shopping center store by store, LaBarbiera said.
The weapon had not been recovered, Ehrenberg said, adding that many patrons and employees remained inside while the mall remained on lockdown.
Clarice Forbes, who works at the Talbots store at the mall, told the station that she saw the gunman as he walked past her store.
“When he walked past our store, he looked directly in the store and strolled past,” Forbes said. “It was very, very terrifying.”
She added: "There were so many thoughts going through my head. I was so scared."
More than 200 law enforcement units from local, county and state agencies swarmed the scene after initial reports of multiple shots fired just before 9:30 p.m., NBC New York reported.
NBC New York
Police respond to reports of a shooting at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J., on Monday, Nov. 4.
Witnesses told the station that an unidentified suspect dressed in black — and wearing what looked like a motorcycle helmet — was carrying a rifle and started firing shots inside the large shopping complex.
"He was fully armored head to toe, like he planned this. Like it's not like a random thing," a male shopper who did not want to give his name told the station.
He added: "I'm fine, but this is crazy."
Forbes said that as the gunman walked through the mall, he appeared to fire his rifle in the air.
Officials said the mall would be closed Tuesday. There are upwards of 200 stores and 50 restaurants and eateries inside the mall.
Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, the most populous county in New Jersey and roughly 20 miles southwest of Manhattan.
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