A Chicago woman was killed and a girl was wounded in a shooting outside a suburban mall Saturday evening, authorities said.
At 5:46 p.m., officers responded to a call of shots fired in the southwest parking lot of North Riverside Park Mall, located at 7501 W. Cermak Rd., according to a statement from North Riverside police.
Maria Ruiz, 42, and a juvenile girl, whose exact age was not immediately available, were found with gunshot wounds and taken to area hospitals.
Ruiz, of the 2200 block of South Sawyer in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
The juvenile girl's injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, according to police.
A GoFundMe page created by Ruiz's son Jose has already raised over $14,000 to help pay for funeral expenses.
The male offender, who a source close to the investigation said is known by police, fled the scene before officers arrived and remained on the loose as of Sunday morning, authorities said.
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Officers determined that the incident was "isolated and domestic in nature," North Riverside Deputy Police Chief Christian Ehrenberg said in a statement, though the relationship of the victims and the gunman was not known.
Bullet holes could be seen in a vehicle's window in the parking lot, which was taped off for several hours as authorities investigated.
The scene left shoppers and staff alike frightened and in disbelief.
"I just came today to check on my employees and make sure that everything was going according to plan and on my way out, I seen all these lights and the police cars and the yellow tape," said Mia Williams, who works at North Riverside Park Mall.
"[I'm] definitely shocked," she continued. "You know, North Riverside Park Mall is a family mall, lots of people bring their children here, so I'm definitely shocked."
One shopper said she was "very scared" by the incident.
"I've never heard of this, I mean, I know that a lot of this is happening around everywhere and stuff but it frightens me," she added.
No one is in custody in connection with the shooting as authorities continue to investigate.
