New Details On Shooting Near Bucks Co. Mall: Violence Was 'Targeted,' Police Say

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — A Thursday evening shooting at a bus stop at the Oxford Valley Mall was "targeted" and "directed," according to Middletown Township Police.

Police from throughout Lower Bucks County, along with the Pennsylvania State Police, responded to the mall around 5 p.m. after a man was shot at the SEPTA bus stop near the JCPenney store.

"There appears to be a relationship between the shooter and the victim, so it's not a random act or an active shooter," said Middletown Detective Lt. Steve Forman. "It just happened to occur at a mall. If this had happened in a neighborhood, it would not have garnered the same attention."

Police said they will begin the process today of interviewing witnesses and conducting other investigations in an attempt to identify the shooter.

Forman said the victim ran inside the mall through a loading dock area and ended up near the Annie Ann's store where he was met by store security. The sight of a man trailing blood through the mall triggered people to think there was an active shooter and they began flooding the 911 center with calls, police said.

"People didn't know where it had occurred. They just thought it occurred inside the mall," said Forman. "But there was no threat to the public or any of the other shoppers there. This was specifically a targeted, directed shooting and the shooter just wanted to get the hell out of there."

The victim was taken to the hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for a gunshot wound to the arm and what appeared to be a graze wound from the bullet.

"Because he is medically sedated, we have not had the opportunity to talk with him," said Forman. "Some of the information we do have from the first officers on the scene is that there's a distinct impression that he knew the shooter and there was some sort of ongoing dispute.

"We're doing everything we can do without actually talking to him at this point," said Forman. "He is from Trenton so we're working closely with Trenton Police and their intelligence units and also the New Jersey State Police. We're looking for any known associates, any other incidents with him.."

In the moments following the shooting, police followed active shooter protocols and conducted a systematic evacuation of the mall. It took law enforcement about two hours to clear the shopping center, which shut down operations for the rest of the day.