FOREST ACRES, S.C. (AP) — Police say an officer has died of injuries sustained in shooting at a suburban South Carolina mall, and a suspect is in custody.
Forest Acres police Chief Gene Sealy said at a news conference Wednesday that the Officer Greg Alia had died.
Officials say the incident at Richland Mall in Forest Acres, near Columbia, began with a call of a suspicious person just before 8 a.m. Eastern time. Sealy says officers responded and attempted to talk to the person, who fled on foot, running through the Barnes and Noble bookstore and other parts of the mall.
Sealy says Alia confronted the individual, there was a struggle, and he was shot.
Sealy says Alia was 32 years old and a seven-year veteran of the department. Sealy says Alia and wife Cassie recently had a baby.
