Cops cuffed two Brooklyn teens who allegedly fired a gun inside Kings Plaza on Saturday evening — initially sparking fears of an active shooter inside the Mill Basin shopping center and setting off an urgent manhunt on the ground and from the air.
Police responded to reports of shots fired near the Michael Kors store inside the Flatbush Avenue and Avenue U mall at about 5:50 pm on July 8, where a 16-year-old suspect from Bed-Stuy had allegedly fired a bullet at a fellow teen who may have robbed him at some point, according to authorities. But the bullet missed the intended target and instead lodged inside a display case at Malsons Jewelers, where police later found it, officials said.
The teen then handed over the weapon to his accomplice — a 16-year-old from Flatbush — and they both fled, leading police to evacuate the mall, close nearby streets, and launch a nearly two-hour search aided by a helicopter, according to authorities.
Officers ultimately found the teen who allegedly fired the gun at 6:16 pm on E. 55th Street near Avenue O, and later found his buddy — with a loaded pistol inside his pants — on Fillmore Avenue between E. 54th and E. 55th streets at about 7:25 pm, officials said.
The investigation is ongoing, and there were no injuries reported, according to authorities. Both suspects were arraigned on July 9, according to District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office.
The mall has seen other violent incidents. A few years ago the day after Christmas — two years in a row — teens broke out into a brawl.
A spokesman for Kings Plaza did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
