Two Goshen residents injured after shot fired in Galleria mall

BY ERIKA NORTON
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Police say a man fired a gun inside the busy Galleria at Crystal Run on Sunday afternoon, leaving two Goshen residents injured, and prompting a mall lockdown and evacuation.
Town of Wallkill police say a male in a dark jacket and khaki pants discharged one round from a handgun into the floor on the second level of the mall in front of the American Eagle store. Police have not determined whether the shot was accidental or intentional.
The victims — a 49-year-old mother and her 12-year-old son of Goshen — suffered minor leg wounds from either bullet fragments or shattered floor tile as a result of the gunshot. They were transported to Orange Regional Medical Center where they were both treated and released.
Police are continuing to search for the suspect and released surveillance video of the man, who was in the company of a woman and two small children.
A possible suspect turned himself into Monticello police Tuesday night, according to published reports, but no charges were announced as of Wednesday as this paper goes to press. A news conference was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, as this paper goes to press.
Police say the male suspect is white or hispanic, 6 feet 2 inches tall, with dark hair, a beard and mustache, and was wearing a dark jacket and khaki pants. The female person of interest is white or hispanic, 5 feet four inches tall, with blonde hair, and was wearing a dark jacket and maroon pants.
They were both in the company of two small children, an infant and a child approximately three years old. Released surveillance footage shows the man, woman and children both entering the mall, walking through the mall shortly after the incident, and then quickly exiting near the Fuji Japanese Steakhouse.
Chaos Upon arriving to the packed mall full of Black Friday weekend shoppers, police immediately locked down the mall and evacuated customers. Police also searched the stores a second time to ensure there were no other victims and that all customers and employees had left the area.
Florida, N.Y. resident Hayley Coriaty was in the mall with her mom and little sister at the time of the shooting. They had an hour to kill before the movie they planned to see started, so they went to the new Round 1 bowling alley and arcade to play some games.
“We only got two games in and all of a sudden, we saw a herd of people with faces terrified, running,” Coriaty said. “So our immediate reaction was, run.”
She said they didn’t know what had happened since they were in the noisy arcade, but saw people running in all different directions, so they didn’t know which way to run. Nearby they saw a door opening at the Custom T’s T-shirt store and the manager holding the door open looking around.
Coriaty, her mom and her little sister ran over to the store and were the last three people to get into the extremely small room, where 20 to 25 were also hiding.
“Somebody in the room said we think it’s a shooter out there — my heart dropped,” she said. “The unknown is the worst feeling and not having control of the situation is horrifying.”
Coriaty, her family, and the others — among which there were young children — hid for about 40 minutes before SWAT team members came and escorted them out of the mall. She said the SWAt team was still on high alert since the shooter had not been found, and were breaking down every door to make sure everyone had gotten out.
When they got outside, they ran to their parked car, which was at the complete opposite end of the mall, and drove away.
“It was definitely not an situation I ever want to experience again, ever,” she said.
Coriaty also said she wants to thank the manager of the Custom T’s store for staying calm and helping them hide.
Investigation continuesThe investigation into the incident is being conducted by Town of Wallkill Detectives with assistance from the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI.
Anyone with information or video or still photos capturing this incident is asked to contact Town of Wallkill Police Department Detectives at (845) 692-6757.
According to Wallkill Chief of Police Hertman and State Police Trooper Steven Nevel, it is legal for a person with a permit to bring a registered gun into the mall. According to the Galleria at Crystal Run website, the mall has a “no weapons allowed” policy.