Southdale is back to normal after Friday's shooting

As Edina police continued searching for whoever shot and wounded two teenage boys Friday in a parking lot at the Southdale shopping center, investigators, shoppers and merchants said Saturday they believe the shooting was an anomaly.

Other shopping centers, such as the Mall of America, have had issues with unruly teenagers or acts of violence, but Edina police and merchants said Southdale has not seen such problems.

"We're OK," said Ali Wasti, who works at the Treats and More near the mall entrance closest to where the shooting took place. "It's a good environment here. We have a lot of teen customers, but no problems."

The shooting that police called gang-related happened shortly after 6 p.m. in the parking lot near the J.C. Penney store.

The two teens -- a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old whose names had not been released Saturday -- were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

The 15-year-old was shot in the leg and not seriously injured. The 18-year-old was shot in the stomach and underwent surgery late Friday. No condition reports were available Saturday.

At least four shots from a .45-caliber handgun were fired during the clash between two groups of teens. Police said Saturday they are still not sure what triggered the altercation and why the two groups were at the mall parking lot.

Police said that over the years most police calls to Southdale had involved shoplifting or property crimes.

"Crimes against persons are really rare out there," said Sgt. Jeff Elasky of the Edina Police Department. "It's an anomaly. I can't remember anything like this at all out there."

Elasky said that, as a precaution, he told his officers Saturday morning to "be more of a presence" at the mall.

And by the afternoon, several mall security SUVs were either parked in front of mall entrances or patrolling the perimeter and lots.

"The security out here is very visible," said Bear Little, manager of the Ritz Camera One Hour Photo shop near the J.C. Penney. "The biggest issue we have out here is shoplifting, but all malls have that."

More than a decade ago, in an effort to reduce unruly behavior, the Mall of America created a policy requiring teens under 16 be accompanied by an adult over age 21 after 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturdays.

It was one of the first malls to start restricting youth access, according to International Council of Shopping Centers. The results were impressive. Fights dropped from 300 to two the year after implementation, said mall spokesman Dan Jasper.

Dozens of malls across the country followed suit, but not those in the metro area. They generally have no youth restrictions, relying rather on rules for good conduct.

"We have a general code of conduct and a well-trained security force," said Robin Hahn, general manager at the Burnsville Center.

Customers coming in and out of Southdale on Saturday said they were aware of the shooting but that it would not deter them from going about their business.

"That won't bother me," said Ethel Furuli of Edina, who shops at Southdale at least once a week. "I come here often. I've never seen anything iffy."

Little said he had just left work and was stopped at a traffic light Friday night when the shooting took place.

"I saw about 15 emergency vehicles responding," he said. "Squad cars were flying through the intersection."

Merchants said Southdale, which has been working to attract more youths, tends to be kid- and teen-friendly, which made the shooting that much more disturbing.

"It came as something of a shock to us," said Alex Warfield, manager of Game Central. "I've never seen any kind of disturbance out here."

Staff writer Karen Youso contributed to this report. Heron Marquez Estrada • 612-673-4280