Police Chase Suspect, Shots Fired on Busiest Shopping Day of the Year at King of Prussia Mall

Police shot a suspect in the King of Prussia Mall parking lot on Sunday, as it was filled with holiday shoppers, just a week before the Christmas holiday.

Upper Merion Police say it all took place around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon in the mall parking lot near Seasons 52 restaurant.

The suspect was reportedly involved in a hit-and-run accident in the mall. The suspect fled, but police chased the vehicle (a red Nissan Juke) through the parking lot.

Get our free mobile app

When the suspect, who has been identified as a 27-year-old man from Philadelphia, attempted to exit his vehicle yielding a gun. 

"As [the officer] is approaching on foot, the suspect gets out holding a black handgun. He doesn't comply with the officer's orders to drop the weapon and starts firing the weapon at the officer," Upper Merion Township Police Chief Thomas Nolan said in a Sunday evening press conference. 

The officer returned fire and shot the suspect at least twice in the legs, according to police. They say the suspect was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The officer, who has been praised as a hero, was not injured in the incident. 

"You have the largest shopping mall by retail space in the country on the Sunday before Christmas. It could have been very, very different. The actions of the officers, in this case, were heroic," Nolan said on Sunday evening.

An investigation is ongoing, police say.