AVENTURA, Fla. – A 21-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a shooting that occurred earlier this year at the Aventura Mall which left five people injured.
Norman Lee Pickens was taken into custody Monday night on three counts of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder.
Police said at the time that the shooting resulted from a fight between two groups of people that escalated.
According to his arrest warrant, a witness who was with Pickens at the time identified him to police as the gunman who was captured on surveillance video inside the mall on May 8.
Pickens is the second person to be arrested in connection with the incident.
According to authorities, three people were shot and two others were injured running out of the mall on that Saturday afternoon, the day before Mother’s Day.
It’s unfortunately not the only crime involving a gun to happen at the popular Miami-Dade mall this year.
Months later on Oct. 24, a couple walking to their car near the Nordstrom garage were robbed at gunpoint.
Detectives say Joshua Underwood and another man followed the couple for about two hours through the mall before robbing them.
The report of the incident details the terrifying encounter, stating: “The one, for fear for his life and that of his wife, attempted to grab the firearm from suspect one. A struggle ensued.”
Police say the other suspect stole a $9,000 gold chain link bracelet. The suspect then got into Underwood’s car and left the mall.
According to jail records, Pickens, the accused mall shooter, appeared in bond court on Tuesday and is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in lieu of a $900,000 bond.
Meanwhile, police say it was an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip that lead to the arrest of the robbery suspect. The report also says he had an open felony case out of Broward County.