Man with gun in custody after standoff near Mall of America

A man with a shotgun was taken into custody Friday after a standoff in a Mall of America parking lot, authorities said.

The Bloomington Police Department said on social media that crisis negotiators were brought to the scene and the man was taken into custody in the area of ​​American Boulevard and 24th Avenue in suburban Minneapolis.

The standoff began just after 4 p.m. A caller to 911 said the man had a large gun in the parking lot and entered a Royal Canadian International Circus tent set up in the parking lot, the Star Tribune reported.

Bloomington Police said officers arrived to find a man in the parking lot with a shotgun, which he refused to drop when told to do so by police.

People in the tent and a nearby hotel were evacuated. Officers reached the man’s family members, who said he was experiencing a mental health crisis.

Crisis negotiators tried to get him to surrender, but around 6:15 p.m. he walked to his vehicle and did not get out, police said. The Star Tribune reported that about half an hour later the man got out of his SUV and two shots rang out, he fell to the ground and screamed.

Officers handcuffed the man, who was alive and moving. The man, who was not immediately identified, was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, the Star Tribune reported.

Shoppers were unable to enter the parking lot during the standoff and nearby roads were closed but reopened after the standoff ended.

Mall of America spokeswoman Laura Utecht said an entrance to the mall was closed while police dealt with the man, but the mall remained open.