Bay Area mall reopens after 3 shot on Black Friday

Jason Green and Kyle Martin, The Mercury News on Nov 29, 2025

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SAN JOSE, Calif. – Westfield Valley Fair reopened at noon Saturday after a shooting Friday night sent three people to the hospital and hundreds running for their lives on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The incident, which police said was potentially gang-related, happened around 5:40 p.m. Friday on the second floor of the upscale mall, just outside of Macy’s, according to San Jose Police Sgt. Jorge Garibay.

The victims — identified as a man, woman and 16-year-old girl — were taken to hospitals with at least one gunshot wound each, he said. The injuries were not life-threatening.

Garibay described the shooting as an “isolated incident.”

“This was not targeted at unsuspecting shoppers,” he told reporters gathered near the scene on Friday.

While the motive and circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation, Garibay said it appeared to have stemmed from a dispute between the male victim and the suspect. The other victims — the woman and teen — were not involved in the initial altercation.

The suspect left the scene before officers arrived and remained at large Saturday. No description was released.

Police asked the public to avoid the area while officers evacuated and cleared the mall.

One mall worker, who identified himself as Luke A. for fear of retribution from his job for speaking to the press, told this news organization that when shots first rang through the mall, hordes of terrified people rushed the bar he worked at. He assumed at first it was a late night rush, not noticing they were running to his bar for refuge from live gunfire.

“I just saw everyone storm in,” he said. “It’s a crazy thing.”

He said staff at his bar and mall patrons started filing out through the back exits of the bar and were greeted outside by dozens of police officers armed with long rifles, urging everyone to evacuate the mall.

“We were just trying to stay calm,” he said.

On Saturday morning, local officials offered assurances of justice for the victims of the shooting.

“I am praying for the three gunshot victims and for the thousands of people for whom a holiday shop became a survival mission,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement. “We are upping patrols at Valley Fair and will continue to update the community as the investigation continues. Please know — the person who caused this pain and fear will not get away with it, we will find them and they will face their crimes.”

San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said in a statement Saturday morning that “to reassure our community, we are increasing patrols throughout the weekend while our Detectives continue their focused work to identify and locate the individual responsible. I have full confidence the suspect will be brought to justice swiftly.”

Santa Clara Police Chief Cory Morgan in a statement said, “Valley Fair is our shared space, and its safety is our shared duty. This seamless partnership reflects regular cross-jurisdictional drills and shared commitment to the safety of both communities. Together, we will keep training and keep investigating, in order to keep both cities safe.”

Social media posts from mallgoers captured the chaos inside Valley Fair after shots were fired, with some patrons taking shelter where they could and others rushing toward the exits.

In a post on X, Fiona Z said she was hiding in a storage room with her children.

“I can hear people screaming outside,” she said, adding in a follow-up post that “the gunshot sounded so close.”

Other posts included footage of officers running through an eerily empty mall with guns drawn.

Eduardo Barocio, 18, of Oakland, told this news organization he had just arrived at Valley Fair to do some Black Friday shopping when he heard what sounded like eight to 10 gunshots.

“At first, I didn’t think much of it,” Barocio said, but then everyone around him started to run.

“That’s when I realized it was real,” he said.

Barocio ran to a parking lot. He later saw two officers emerge from the mall with a man who appeared to have a chest wound.

“I just hope no one was injured too badly,” Barocio said.

On Saturday afternoon, shoppers strolled back into the mall, some aware of the shooting that caused a crisis less than 24-hours earlier.

Venus Watson, a Monterey resident in town to shop, said she’d heard of the shooting before she entered the mall Saturday, but she was not deterred.

“If you live life scared, you’re never going to do anything,” Watson told this news organization. “You have to just keep on living and hope for the best.”