Shots were fired at Columbiana Centre mall on Harbison Boulevard Saturday, the Columbia Police Department reported at about 2:30 p.m. Columbia Police Deputy Chief Melron Kelly said multiple people have been shot, but there are no fatalities reported. Kelly said eight people have been taken for medical treatment, but it’s not certain how many of those people were shot. Some might have been trampled after shots were fired, Kelly said. No arrests had been made as of about 3:30 p.m., and officers were “going store to store and closet to closet searching for someone with a weapon,” Kelly said.

The search was part of the process of clearing the mall of all shoppers. There were more than a hundred first responders at the mall and across the street at a command center. This includes law enforcement officers in uniform and others in fatigues and body armor with what appears to be automatic rifles.

Police say that anyone inside the mall can call 9-1-1 or 803-252-2911 and tell the dispatchers your location. Dispatchers will notify law enforcement immediately. For employees inside the mall who were told to shelter in place for safety, law enforcement officers will come to you as a protected escort, Columbia police said on Twitter. “DO NOT leave a store until told to do so by proper authorities,” police tweeted. The mall parking lot was closed as emergency vehicles swarmed the mall area, and exit ramps to Harbison Boulevard from Interstate 26 were shut down. A reunification site for loved ones was being staged at the Fairfield Inn at 320 Columbiana Drive, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. The scene outside the hotel was quiet, as an ambulance and fire department vehicle were seen idling in the parking lot. Law enforcement officers carrying long guns and wearing camouflage vests were seen walking into Dave & Busters at the mall around 3:20 p.m.