Washington ? Shots erupted in a packed Seattle-area shopping mall Saturday after an apparent argument between a gunman and two other young men, killing one of the men, creating panic among shoppers and sending police on a store-to-store search for the shooter, authorities said.

The Southcenter Mall in Tukwila was locked down as police tried to find the gunman. Officer Mike Murphy, a police spokesman, told The Associated Press there were “thousands” of shoppers at the mall when the shooting took place just before 3:45 p.m.

The two injured men were taken to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, where one of them died. Murphy said he did not know the condition of the other victim.

The gunman used a pistol and fired multiple shots, Murphy said. At least two other people were detained for questioning, he said.