Fresno police confirm shooting at Fashion Fair Mall

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Gunshots at Fashion Fair Mall sent shoppers into a panic just after seven Saturday night.

"Everybody was like screaming and crying in there," says Haley Ruiz.

"I heard gunshots and I thought it was over a loud speaker," says Henk Knevelvaard.

Detectives say a confrontation between two groups of men between the ages of 18 to 25 turned violent.

They say as three men, one of whom was armed, were leaving the mall, four other men approached them from behind.

"A fight ensued and during that fight, one of those subjects pulled out a handgun and fired multiple rounds at the other group," says Fresno Police Lt. Stephen Viveros.

Sabrina Nevarez saw it all unfold right in front of her eyes.

"I saw the guy with a red shirt turn around and start shooting and after that, we left running," she said.

An off-duty sergeant at the mall rushed to help a young man who said he was hurt and possibly shot.

Officers say the man ran away when he found out it was a sergeant helping him.

The sergeant wasn't able to find any injuries.

"We do not know if he ever saw blood," Viveros said. "We do not have that kind of evidence here at the scene."

All of those involved in the shooting took off -- leaving behind a chaotic scene.

Ruiz was inside Sephora with her cousin when she heard the gunshots.

"My cousin was on the other side of the store, so I screamed for her, grabbed her and told the Sephora employees to let us in the back stock room right now," she said.

Knevelvaard says everyone inside the mall dropped everything and ran for cover.

"People just started running and left their cash registers, the things they were selling, their phones, everything, they just left," he said.

Officers are now working to determine if the shooting is gang-related.

Detectives say some of those involved were wearing clothing that could be associated with gangs.