Police Officer Dies After Shooting At Mall In S.C. Suburbs

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UPDATE: SEPT. 30, 2015, 12:26 PM ET

FOREST ACRES, S.C. (AP) — Police say an officer has died of injuries sustained in shooting at a suburban South Carolina mall, and a suspect is in custody.

Forest Acres police Chief Gene Sealy said at a news conference Wednesday that the Officer Greg Alia (A-LEE-UH) had died.

Officials say the incident at Richland Mall in Forest Acres, near Columbia, began with a call of a suspicious person just before 8 a.m. Sealy says officers responded and attempted to talk to the person, who fled on foot, running through the Barnes and Noble bookstore and other parts of the mall.

Sealy says Alia confronted the individual, there was a struggle, and he was shot.

Sealy says Alia was 32 years old and a seven-year veteran of the department. Sealy says Alia and wife Cassie recently had a baby.

Richland County Sheriff’s spokesman Chris Cowan says two Forest Acres officers were called to a report of a suspicious person at Richland Mall around 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Cowan says that during the investigation, shots were fired. Cowan didn’t say who was shot. Cowan says one person was taken to a hospital.

State Law Enforcement Division spokesman Thom Berry says the agency was called shortly before 8:30 a.m. to assist. He says SLED agents and crime scene technicians were requested, and a number are at the scene.

A Columbia police spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a message.

Forest Acres is a residential town virtually surrounded by Columbia. The mall is anchored by a department store and a theater complex.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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