Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Police and mall security rushed to Nordstrom to stop the looting, but one man was shot in the leg and wounded in the melee
Dozens of looters have charged into the Nordstrom department store in San Francisco after a mass shooting.
Shots were fired during a robbery that killed a 20-year-old and seriously injured a woman, police said.
Images from the scene show security staff rushing through the mall to stop the looting, and a man holding a handgun near the store’s entrance.
One man was injured, suffering a gunshot wound to the leg. He was treated at the scene.
Before the shooting, people had already been queuing up to buy holiday gifts in the store.
Once the shooting began, the entire parking lot had become a hoard of looters, some dragging suitcases as others climbed over security fences.
Image copyright The San Francisco Chronicle Image caption The swarm of rioting was reminiscent of the looting after the unrest in Oakland in 2015
The violence that unfolded in the San Francisco mall had echoes of looting in Oakland following a police shooting in 2015.
After the initial gunfire, a masked man grabbed his girlfriend by the hair and dragged her through the store before running off.
A man who was shot in the leg left a racial slur and the words “f*** police” written on his arm, according to police.
A spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department confirmed that the store is a tourist attraction, but police and mall security rushed to the scene to stop the looting.
One shopper told the San Francisco Chronicle that she was watching television as the shooting went on.
“We heard people get shot,” she said. “So we ran. We didn’t run far. I got in the store and I locked the door and I got on lockdown. The police were just cutting cars off, he says.
Police do not believe the shooting and looting are related.
Video caption Swarms of shoppers rushed through the corridors at the centre of the chaotic scene
Speaking on Twitter, spokesperson for the Nordstrom store in San Francisco Amy Ellerby offered her condolences to the family of the man who died.
She said: “We are all devastated by this senseless tragedy. We hope for a quick recovery for our colleagues and customers.”
In a statement, the retailer said it had locked down the store in an effort to manage the crowd, but has since lifted the lockdown and reopened.