Authorities identified a 19-year-old man who was shot and killed Friday at a department store in Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota as Johntae Raymon Hudson.
Hudson, of Saint Paul, died of “multiple gunshot wounds”, according to a Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Statement.
A statement on a GoFundMe page created by Hudson’s family describes his positivity and caring nature.
“Johntae was the most loving and caring person to his family and friends. He exuded positive, fun energy and his smile lit up the room. He was a great person overall and we want to give him the funeral he deserves.
Hudson’s family could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
NBC Affiliate SQUARE 11 of Minneapolis spoke to Hudson’s sister, Ja’Nayea Hudson.
“He was supposed to go to the mall to find, like, a sweater to go with his shoes to go to his friend’s birthday that night,” Hudson told the outlet.
The 22-year-old said her younger brother’s murder didn’t seem real.
“I just try to act like he’s still there,” Hudson said.
Hudson also told KARE 11 that when she learned her brother had been shot, she remained hopeful he would survive.
“At first I was just hoping it was like a minor gunshot wound or something, I didn’t think anything too serious about it, until they said they were trying to find a pulse, so I just assumed the worst but was hoping for the best,” she said.
Johntae Hudson was trying to apply to college, his sister said.
Friday night’s shooting happened at a department store in the nation’s largest mall on Christmas Eve, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said.
Hodges spoke to reporters on Saturday and announced five arrests. Three of those arrested are 17 years old and two are 18 years old. Police said they were convinced they arrested at least one shooter, but authorities did not rule out a second shooter.
Hodges said Saturday authorities have not determined a motive and those arrested appear to be uncooperative.
“We know how, where, what and who, we don’t know why,” Hodges said.
Bloomington police could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Mall security video recorded the altercation, which took place between two groups of five to nine people. During the scuffle, a man pulled out a gun and fired several shots at the victim, Hodges said on Saturday.
The shooting happened shortly before 8 p.m. and the mall was placed on lockdown. The shopping center tweeted at 10:10 p.m. that the confinement was lifted.
A bystander’s coat was grazed by a bullet, Hodges said, but no other injuries were reported.
Several members of the New York Giants, who played the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, were in the Mall of America when the shooting occurred. A few players were in the mall and several more were in the team dining hall, a meeting-type room just outside their hotel, which was adjacent to the mall. No team member was injured.
“Your first thought is, obviously, once you’re safe, you think of your teammates,” receiver Darius Slayton said. There are guys who could have gone shopping. Some guys are in their room, some people are everywhere. So obviously your next thought is that all of your teammates are fine, which they were.
The mall, which opened in 1992, experimented with metal detectors at some of its entrances earlier this year. SQUARE 11 reported.
The mall told the station at the time that it was testing options “that could allow us to further improve” the security systems.
Earlier this year, a man fired three shots outside a mall store, KARE 11 reported.
Brian Gallion and The Associated Press contributed.
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