MOA robbery attempts end in arrest of man, rifle apprehended

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - Police apprehended a man with a rifle Friday after an attempted robbery at a hat store in the Mall of America.

At around 12 p.m. the Bloomington Police Department were contacted by Mall of America security reporting a male carrying a rifle inside the mall.

According to Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges, the man was walking around nonchalantly with the rifle, before stealing a charity donation canister at a kiosk.

He then proceeded to a Lids store located on the third floor, and demanded that employees start putting jerseys into a bag for him, Hodges said at a press conference Friday afternoon. 

Upon leaving the Lids store, the mall's reactionary security team was able to tackle and place him under arrest without further incident. No shots were fired.

"This individual decided he was going to rob the mall with a loaded rifle because he wanted a jersey… Well, we got a jersey for him," said Hodges, holding a mugshot of the suspect that he then put an orange inmate shirt over. "He came in wanting a jersey, but this is the one he'll be leaving with."

The mall did not issue a lockdown due to the immediacy of the suspect being taken into custody, according to a statement by mall security. 

A vehicle associated with the suspect was located in the mall parking ramp and is pending a search warrant. 

An initial investigation indicates he also committed a robbery of Twin City Pawn in Minneapolis earlier in the afternoon, according to police. 

On Aug. 4, a shooting at the mall started with a conflict between two groups at the cash registers inside the Nike store.

"I cannot overstress enough how the mall security and our teams have worked together," said Hodges, noting he was taken into custody eight minutes after the initial call from a mall patron. "Five years ago he probably gets shot, but today he got tackled. Our plan worked flawlessly."