"It was a panic:" Police search for suspect after gunfire erupts at Madison's East Towne Center

MADISON -- A 19-year-old is struck by gunfire while at the East Towne Mall located in Madison Saturday afternoon, December 19th. Police are still searching for a suspect.

At least one shot was fired inside the mall Saturday afternoon, which sparked a mad dash towards safety.

"It was a panic. It was chaos. Everybody was running it was like Black Friday but ten times worse," said Jason Cain, heard gunshots.

It all happened a little before 3:00 p.m.

Jason Cain says he was in the mall shopping with a friend when he heard the sound of gunfire.

"First thing I told her to do was leave. Get to your car right now," said Cain.

Police say it all started when about ten young men were involved in a disturbance near the mall's center court.

"One of those ten produced a handgun and fired at least one shot. It struck one person who was involved in the fight in the leg," said David Dexheimer, Madison Police Department.

The 19-year-old victim was taken to a hospital with what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries.

Police say a mall merchant was also hit by ricochet.

"Struck in the leg. The round or the fragment didn't even penetrate his pant leg -- let alone cause any injuries," said Dexheimer.

Police say they don't yet know what led to the shooting, but those involved in the incident fled from the mall property. By early evening, police had detained an unknown number of people, but also say they are still searching for a suspect.

"Because there were so many people here we have a lot of eyewitnesses and a lot of people calling so we have descriptions of people -- we also have descriptions of vehicles," said Dexheimer.

Police are asking anyone with information on the gunman is urged to contact Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.