A 19-year-old man pleaded no contest Friday to shooting a 22-year-old at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance last year, officials said.
Jose Manuel Salazar, aka “Issue,” entered his plea to one count of attempted murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
He was immediately sentenced to nine years in state prison.
On June 3, 2019, Salazar allegedly shot a 22-year-old man inside the mall.
At the time of the shooting, an employee who did not want to be identified, said a man shot another man who had been arguing with a woman in front of the Skechers store.
Cellphone video from the mall shooting scene showed bystanders rushing to help a bleeding man on the ground. The victim was taken to a hospital and later released.
As a result of the shooting, the mall was placed on lockdown and evacuated sending shoppers and employees at the massive shopping center into a panic.
Salazar fled the mall shortly after the shooting, officials said. He was later detained on June 29 after getting pulled over during a traffic stop just after 1:15 a.m. in Redondo Beach on suspicion of narcotics sales. Police said Salazar originally gave them a false name, but during the booking process he was positively identified as the gunman in the mall shooting.
