TRACY-

A terrifying ordeal for shoppers at the West Valley Mall in Tracy as four to five shots were fired Friday afternoon.

Only a glass door was hit. The frightening scene sent shoppers running for cover.

“I heard some loud noises some shots,” Mike Benjamin said. He recently opened a store in the mall.

Shawnte Figueroa was in the mall to do some last-minute holiday shopping with her three children when she learned what happened.

“It was scary,” Figeroa said.

Fear and panic raced through her mind on one of the busiest holiday shopping days of the year.

“They won’t let me out. Everything is on lock down and have three kids with me. It’s kind of stressful,” she told FOX40.

The incident unfolded shortly after 4:40 p.m.

“We have found several shell casings and we’re still searching,” said Tracy Police Sergeant Tony Sheneman.

FOX40 learned the lone gunman was outside the mall. It’s unknown if he ever made it inside.

“No victim came forward. People were coming out and they ran back into the mall,” said Sheneman. “No one has come forward saying they were a target.”

A perimeter was set up as SWAT officers moved into the parking lot, searching at least a hundred vehicles looking for the gunman who was considered armed and dangerous.

“We’re confidant that no one is in the parking lot and that the people here are safe,” Sheneman said.

It’s believed the gunfire all started because of an altercation. The shooter hasn’t been found.

The mall was never shut down, police say. The only suspect description we have to go on is the gunman is a male in his late teens or 20’s with long dark hair.

A tense two hours, but now the mall is back to business as usual – for the most part. Bath and Body Works decided to close for the rest of the evening.