By Jim Leggate, Devin McGinley, Rob Heinemann and Noah Cohen
A man armed with a long gun fired at least five shots Monday night in the upper level of the Garden State Plaza.
Mall workers said they heard two series of shots — bursts of three and two — before being ordered to evacuate the mall. There were no reports of any casualties.
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They described the gunman as wearing black leather pants and jacket, a backpack and a motorcycle helmet with the visor open. They detailed a chaotic scene of taking cover in stores between bursts of gunfire.
The mall was locked down as heavily-armed officers approached.
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Clarice Forbes, of Paterson, and who works at Talbot's, said he saw the man walk by her shooting a rifle into air.
“It was very, very terrifying. Very scary,” Forbes said.
Alaa Hegazi, a contractor working on a new bar in the mall, said the man told him “I don’t want to shoot anyone here, just let me go."
Ben Fastman, who manages a kiosk selling hair products, said people ran past his kiosk and screaming “there’s shooting, there’s shooting.”Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
