2 teens arrested after gunfire at Bradenton-area outlet mall sends stores into lockdown 

After gunfire in a parking lot of Ellenton Premium Outlets sent the mall into a temporary lockdown on Sunday afternoon, two teens were arrested, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Cristian Mireles, 18, and Sherwin Collins, 17, fired multiple shots from a vehicle at another car around 4:40 p.m. in the mall’s east parking lot, MCSO said.

“From what I’m hearing, it was all very quick,” sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren said Sunday. “They shot at each other and then they both fled out of the area.”

Witnesses initially told investigators people in separate cars were shooting at each other, but it does not appear that teenagers in the second car fired back, MCSO said.

MCSO said an earlier argument between several teenagers is believed to be the motive for the shooting.

Warren said no shots were fired in or near stores, and no injuries have been reported.

Mall security issued a shelter-in-place warning to customers and staff that lasted for about a half an hour while law enforcement investigated the shooting, Warren said.

Then the mall went back to regular operations.

A shooting in the mall’s parking lot last July led to three teens getting charged with attempted murder.

This story was originally published May 7, 2023 at 6:29 PM with the headline "2 teens arrested after gunfire at Bradenton-area outlet mall sends stores into lockdown ."