Shots fired Thursday evening in South Coast Plaza parking lot

Gunfire rang out at South Coast Plaza Thursday evening, but there were no immediate reports of anyone being wounded.

It happened in the mall’s northeast parking structure, Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Mike Manson said. An officer who was on the opposite side of the property heard the shots at about 8:30 p.m. and was the first to reach the scene. The officer found an abandoned vehicle, but anyone who might have witnessed the shooting had apparently left.

“By the time they got there, those suspects were in the wind and all that was left there were the car and bullet casings,” Manson said.

Detectives obtained grainy surveillance footage showing at least one person opening fire Thursday evening. That person and one other were in the car, got into a collision in the parking structure and then fled the scene on foot, Manson said.

A detailed description of either of those people was not immediately available. Detectives were attempting to determine the motive for the shooting as of Friday.

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