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Police Arrest Rivergate Mall Shooter - John Dunn
FOX 17 News – By: John Dunn
Police say the man who pulled a gun and terrified shoppers at Rivergate Mall is in custody.
Investigators say an alert viewer saw the surveillance tape from the shooting and recognized Leslie Tharpe II as the man with the gun.
The 19 year old has a history of running from police.
"Right in the middle of the mall, there's been a mall shooting," says a 911 caller.
The gunfire sent shoppers running for cover and calling for help.
"Okay did you see who did it? No we're hiding in a closet," says a 911 caller.
"I just heard the shots, and glass breaking, and people running everywhere,” says a 911 caller.
Now, a week after the shooting at Rivergate Mall, police have arrested Leslie Tharpe II.
"You want to get that solved before this individual does it again and somebody else is potentially hurt or killed in a similar situation," says Goodlettsville Police Chief Richard Pope.
The break in the case came when police released surveillance video.
At first it shows the suspect and his girlfriend walking through Dillard’s.
Then a camera in the center of the mall records the moments before the shooting.
Police believe Tharpe fired at least two shots toward three men who had said something about his girlfriend.
No one was hurt, but a store window was shattered.
Police arrested Leslie Tharpe on Meade Avenue. He was sitting in a parked car with his girlfriend. Officers say they found a handgun and more than 12 grams of cocaine inside the vehicle.
"Anytime weapons and drugs are involved there's always a real tendency for violence to take place," says Chief Pope.
After the shooting police say Tharpe ran through the mall parking lot and quickly drove away.
Now we’ve learned the 19 year old has previous convictions for drug possession and evading arrest.
"We're ducked down behind a counter. We're actually out in the open, we're just ducked down," says a 911 caller.
A piece of plywood in front of Vitamin World is the only reminder of the shooting, but the people at the mall that night will never forget it.
"There's about four or five shots fired. I don't know who is running, but there's people running,” says a 911 caller.
Leslie Tharpe now faces numerous charges including three counts of aggravated assault.
He’s being held at the Metro Jail on a $200,000 bond.
Police Arrest Rivergate Mall Shooter - John Dunn
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