Police are looking for two men Tuesday wanted in connection with the shooting of a repo driver in Fort Worth and a police chase that ended outside Hulen Mall about a half-hour later.
Officer Daniel Segura, with the Fort Worth Police Department, told media gathered outside of Hulen Mall at about 1:30 p.m. that a tow truck driver called 911 at about 11:30 a.m. and said he'd been shot while attempting to repossess a vehicle.
The tow truck driver was injured in the shooting on the 5000 block of Vermillion Drive but managed to drive about two miles away into Kennedale and stopped to call for help. The tow truck driver, who has not been identified, was hospitalized in an unknown condition.
A short time later, Segura said, Fort Worth police spotted a vehicle on Interstate 20 believed to be related to the shooting.
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Officers tried to stop the driver but the driver refused to pull over and instead led police on a chase toward the mall. It was there that three people got out of the vehicle near a Macy's department store while two others continued in the car through the parking lot.
The three occupants who got out near Macy's were immediately taken into police custody.
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Moments later the driver of the car crashed into a barricade between two restaurants, BJ's Brewhouse and Red Robin, and the two occupants took off.
Police began searching the building, evacuating some shoppers and employees as they conducted their sweep.
"A weapon was recovered on scene at Hulen Mall, however, I want to clarify that there were no shots fired inside or near Hulen Mall," Segura said.
Shanette Littlejohn, of Fort Worth, said she was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping when the store she was in was placed on lockdown.
"I have never experienced anything like this. I just couldnβt believe it when they came in and I was shopping, and they just said, 'Everyone get to one side!' It scared me," Littlejohn said. "I called my husband and was like, 'Can you see anything on the news? Something is happening at Hulen Mall.'"
Police have not yet shared a description or any other identifying information about the two people who remain at large or the three who were taken into custody.
Officer Segura said no injuries were reported as a result of the incident.