Armed robber arrested inside Mall of America after being “tackled” by mall security
By Crime Watch MN, Aug. 26, 2022
Crime Watch was first to report just after noon on Friday, Aug. 26, a report of an armed male inside Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.
Police dispatch audio indicated that mall security had reported a male armed with a rifle had entered the mall in the south central area.
Further audio indicated that the male didn’t appear to be acting in a threatening manner and that security was closely watching his movements.
The male was reported to enter a “Lids” store, which is a hat and logo apparel store with several stores located in the mall.
Shortly thereafter, dispatch audio indicated that “Mall security took him down outside of Lids.”
Police located an orange Corvette reported at the time to belong to the suspect which also contained guns, according to dispatch audio.
After the incident, we received a copy of a memo allegedly sent by Mall of America to tenants confirming that an armed robbery had taken place. We also located a social media post from a person who claimed to be a worker at Lids who said he was the one who was robbed by a person “with a M16.”
Bloomington police later released a statement confirming the robbery and stated that Cartier Troy Alexander, 28, had been arrested.
The BPD statement also said that Alexander was suspected in an earlier pawn shop robbery in Minneapolis, which matches the description of a robbery we reported on the 1500 block of East Lake Street just after 11:30 a.m.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges later gave a press conference detailing the series of events and the eventual detainment of Alexander after he was “tackled” by a mall security team when he exited the Lids store.
Chief Hodges explained upon questioning that a lockdown wasn’t aired over loudspeakers because they didn’t want to cause a panic with people running or “escalate” the situation when the suspect wasn’t currently acting in a threatening manner. The chief said mall security was working diligently to get operatives in place to react immediately should the need be necessary.
Hodges said five years ago the suspect probably would have been shot, but on Friday they were able to take him into custody with no one being hurt, including police, security and citizens.
We will continue to watch for updates and charges in this developing story including any charges that may be forthcoming from the pawn shop robbery.
As always, please follow us on Twitter for the most current information on any incidents or situations as we post in as close to real-time as possible on that platform.
###
Crime Watch exists because city officials, police administrations, and mainstream Minnesota media refuse to give you adequate public safety and crime information that you need and deserve. Crime Watch is a volunteer effort now in its 13th year of providing original content reporting and information that you won’t get elsewhere.
This volunteer work is sustained through the support of our followers. Thank you to all who place value on our content and output across social media.
Become a Patron or Donate: Crime Watch Mpls/Twin Cities | Linktree.
