Gardens Mall shooting: What we know Friday

Shots rang out at The Gardens Mall on Wednesday, Feb. 14, sending shoppers and workers fleeing for safety.

The Valentine's Day shooting also came on the sixth anniversary of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where 17 students and teachers were gunned down, and on the same day that one person was killed and 20 others injured during a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade in downtown Kansas City.

No one was killed during the shooting at the Palm Beach Gardens mall and not a lot of details have been released by police.

The mall was closed down from about 3 p.m. on Wednesday after the shooting and reopened at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Here's what we know so far:

Police seeking two men they believe are responsible for the shooting

Palm Beach Gardens police said they are searching for two men they believe are responsible for the shooting.

The police department announced Thursday afternoon that officers found one person at a local hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound stemming from Wednesday's shooting. The agency has yet to announce an arrest in connection with the incident.

Investigators said it was neither a mass shooting nor a random one. Police did not say if a gun was found.

Is The Gardens Mall open?

The Gardens Mall reopened at 10 a.m. Thursday. Employees who returned to work poked their heads into neighboring stores in search of the answers police had yet to give them.

Katie, an employee who asked to be identified by her first name only, said she felt like she was living in a movie when the gunfire began Wednesday afternoon. She fled for safety, returning to the mall at 7 p.m. to collect the things she'd left behind.

"It was really creepy here when I returned," Katie said Thursday. "Food was left sitting on tables, clothes were everywhere and music was still playing. No one thinks they're the exception until they are. Life is weird like that."

Have shoppers returned to The Gardens Mall?

The grassy areas surrounding the mall, where drivers and pedestrians had collected one day earlier, were empty by the time it reopened Thursday. Some stores, including Starbucks and the Apple Store, delayed their usual openings until 11 a.m.

Crowds were thinner than usual when the doors opened but grew larger by noon. The first shoppers to arrive said they weren't worried about a repeat of Wednesday's events.

“This is probably the safest place in Palm Beach County today,” said Mary, a 70-year-old Loxahatchee woman who asked to be identified by her first name only. ”I have no concerns about being here. Things like that don’t usually happen two days in a row.”

Gardens Mall shooting: What to know about north county's upscale shopping, entertainment and dining locale

What's an 'active shooter'?

The language used by Palm Beach Gardens police in the department's post on X, formerly Twitter, about the incident — "was not an active shooter event and does not appear to be a random shooting " — led some to question what the term "active shooter" means.

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security define an active shooter as a person actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area. In most cases, there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.

By comparison, a targeted shooting usually involves a pattern or method in selecting victims. Most shootings police agencies investigate are targeted shootings.

Mall had few incidents of gun violence since its 1988 opening

The mall, owned by The Forbes Company of Southfield, Michigan, is anchored by high-end department stores such as Nordstrom, Macy's and Bloomingdale's and is home to luxury shops such as Brooks Brothers, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and Tiffany & Co.

Before Wednesday, it had seen few incidents of gun violence since it opened along PGA Boulevard in 1988. The most recent came in 2017, when a fight between two men began in the mall's food court, moved outside, and led to one man firing at the other's car.

In 2015, a security guard fired five warning shots as two alleged shoplifters fled the Saks Fifth Avenue store. No one was killed or seriously injured.

Can you bring guns to The Gardens Mall?

You can carry a concealed firearm at Florida malls.

In April 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to allow people in Florida to carry legally owned concealed weapons, including firearms, without background checks, training or a concealed license.

While people can carry a concealed firearm at Florida malls, some businesses might have "no firearms" policies, which are often posted on doors, in entryways or online before you go. Regardless of whether you have a concealed carry license or not, a business owner can legally tell you to leave your gun outside of their establishment.

It is unclear whether The Gardens Mall or any of its individual store tenants have "no firearms" policies.

A spokesperson for the mall's owner, The Forbes Company of Southfield, Michigan, said any questions about the mall's firearm policy should contact the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.

What is The Gardens Mall?

The Gardens Mall is a luxury shopping, dining and entertainment complex in Palm Beach Gardens, which is in northern Palm Beach County.

Located at 3101 PGA Boulevard, the main avenue in Palm Beach Gardens, The Gardens Mall is anchored by Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. But it's better known for its variety of luxury stores, such as Brooks Brothers, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and Tiffany & Co. It also has an Apple store, a Tesla store, and a food court with a Chipotle Mexican Grill and a Chik-fil-A.

There are more than 150 stores in The Gardens Mall, which is owned by The Forbes Company of Southfield, Michigan, and is 1.4 million square feet.

What are the Palm Beach Gardens police saying?

Here's what they posted on X, formerly Twitter since the shooting happened.

When the mall first opened, they let a black panther run loose

The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens opened almost 36 years ago.

As The Palm Beach Post reported on Sept. 21, 1988, a 140-pound black panther was used as part of a TV advertising campaign for the mall.

The ads, as then-Post staffer Elisa Williams reported, were "intended to create an aura of suspense and intrigue around the shopping center" before its opening Oct. 5.

Most of the photos and videos included in this package were done by Palm Beach Post multimedia journalists Greg Lovett and Thomas Cordy.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: What we know now about the Gardens Mall shooting on Valentine's Day