Mary Hopkins was shopping in Eddie Bauer with her husband when the electronic gates came down at the entrance to the store. She was ushered to the back of the store as police officers from four local agencies carrying automatic rifles hurried past Eddie Bauer towards Bergner’s, where shots were reportedly heard.

Though witnesses on the scene reported to police that they heard shots come from within Market Place Mall, 2000 N. Neil St., Champaign, the only shots police could confirm at press time came from outside the mall, by the west side lot where the entrance to Lenscrafters is located.

Just before 5 p.m., one suspect was seen standing over an unarmed man, continually shooting him. Two police officers then confronted the armed suspect, and discharged their weapons, hitting the man and sending him to the ground. Both suspects involved in the shooting were brought to Carle Hospital, where they had both undergone surgery for their bullet wounds, said Champaign Chief of Police R.T. Finney.

Monday, the Champaign Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for attempted murder/intent to kill for Dontrell L. Thompson, a 28 year-old of Milwaukee, Wis.

Montrell remains hospitalized at Carle Hospital. Bail is fixed at $2,500,000.

Finney said no further report on the suspects’ medical condition were made known. Champaign police are being assisted by the FBI in the investigation, which is still in preliminary stages. Because the investigation is still ongoing, no verdict or names of the suspects have been released, although the two men involved in the incident had been identified.

Police initially responded to a reckless driving report at the mall, said Champaign police Spokesperson Rene Dunn. Upon arriving on the scene, police learned that a man who was reported driving recklessly was also armed. Police located the suspect after hearing shots fired.

Upon hearing shots ring out, mall officials ushered shoppers into the stock rooms of stores. Witnesses reported of a chaotic scene within the mall, as people were running in every direction to get out of the potential line of fire.

Teresa Pickett, of Hoopeston, Ill., said she was inside Victoria’s Secret when panicked shoppers began rushing into the store. Shots were not heard, she reported, but store employers were aware of the incident and immediately worked to aide shoppers looking for cover.

“Some of them had no idea what happened, but they were very good at helping us out,” Pickett said.

Police cordoned off nearly the entire parking lot near the west side mall entrance, where the shooting had occurred. By 6:30 p.m., two hours after the incident, dozens of shoppers and mall employees were congregating in the parking lot, waiting for police to clear the site so they could access their cars. Some people were ushered into the backs of patrol cars to stay warm, and MTD busses were brought in to house shoppers waiting to access their cars.

Cars remained in the lot at 8:00, and some on the scene reported that people had left their vehicles in the lot, fearing to return to the scene.

Police said no motive in the case is known but that they suspect the armed man knew his target in some fashion. Details of their relationship are unknown, police said.

“This was not a random act of violence,” Finney said.

Four police agencies were at the scene: Champaign, Urbana, University and State troopers, who had brought in K-9 patrols to search the mall after it was evacuated.

Besides the subjects who were currently hospitalized, police have taken an unspecified number of witnesses in for questioning. They are not suspects and no charges have been filed.