Man Shot Outside Mall in Wheaton

A man was shot last night outside a Montgomery County shopping mall in what appeared to be a gang dispute, and suspects fled through a crowded Macy's store, authorities said.

After the shooting, at about 5 p.m. at the Westfield Wheaton Shopping Centre, a gun was accidentally discharged in a dressing room. The gun had been in the possession of one of the suspects being pursued, police said.

Two guns were later found in the dressing room, police said.

No shoppers or police officers were hit in the incident, either inside or outside the store, police said. The man shot in the parking lot was expected to survive, they said.

Two bystanders were hit by flying glass in the parking lot when a bullet struck a car window, police said.

Officers arrested a 19-year-old man at about 7 or 8 p.m. at the mall in connection with the earlier events, police said in a statement. Police said the man, who was not named, had a gun at the time of the arrest.

According to the statement, just before the shooting began, an off-duty officer who was in the mall area spotted two men who he believed were members of rival gangs.

He said they appeared to be exchanging words and preparing to fight.

Two people in one group then drew guns and fired at members of the other, the statement said.

Police said two of the three guns they found had been stolen from another Maryland jurisdiction, which was not identified.

One stolen gun was in the dressing room, and the other was seized from the 19-year-old, they said.

Much of the Macy's store was shut down for a time, but most of it had reopened by 8 p.m.