By Jessica McBride
A disturbing video has emerged on Snapchat that appears to show the active shooter who targeted Westgate Mall in Glendale, Arizona. Authorities have not yet confirmed the authenticity of the video, which was widely shared on Facebook and Twitter.
The shooter’s mother identified him as Armando Hernandez, 20, of Peoria, according to 12News. It was no longer an active shooter situation and when the dust cleared, three people were reported wounded, with one in critical condition and the others expected to survive.
Glendale, Arizona police tweeted on the evening of May 20, 2020, “Please stay out of the #Westgate area. Preliminary info from our dispatch is there were at least two persons struck by gunfire and one person is in custody. PIO is enroute to the scene. Media staging for now will be West of the Arena.”
Police then provided this update:
“Update: there are no more reports of any active shooting. One suspect is in custody. We are shutting down the Westgate area to ensure everyone is safe. Media staging will be at Cabelas parking lot.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The video, which was posted on Snapchat and then Facebook and Twitter, shows a man saying, “I’m gonna to be the shooter at Westgate, 2020.” He also gives a name.
He then says, “Let’s get this done guys.” He shows weapons in a car.
Then you see him walking with a gun through a mall and then standing with a gun by a car in the parking lot. “This is society’s fault… f*cking shit. This is society’s bullsh*t,” he says.
A woman who is lying by a car in the parking lot keeps saying, “I had nothing to do with that” in the horrific video.
In one video, he’s seen with a camouflage mask. The woman says, “You’ve already got me dude.”
A second showed the chaos at the scene.
Senator Martin Quezada of Arizona tweeted, “I just witnessed an armed terrorist with an AR-15 shoot up Westgate. There are multiple victims.” He also tweeted, “I saw 2 victims with my own eyes. Not sure how many others I saw the shooter. Being told not to say anything else about details ’til I speak to police. I’m ok. Lots of shaken up people.”
Authorities have not confirmed the shooter’s identity, nor said whether anyone is deceased.
A woman posted another video that she said was of police searching the mall on Twitter and wrote, “There is a possible shooting going on at Westgate in Glendale. I’m here at work with a coworker hiding in the back of our studio. If anyone sees anything going on in the news PLEASE let me know! Hoping to get through all of this.”
She wrote, “Update! Police have searched our facility for any suspects. We were told to keep hiding until further notice. Hope everyone at Westgate is safe and okay!”
Journalist Zach Crenshaw wrote on Twitter, “Westgate is teeming with law-enforcement right now after at least two people were shot. One suspect in custody. Unclear how many victims total. No word on a motive. Police chopper is still overhead.”
