Eight-year-old boy dies after being shot in the head by gunman who opened fire on shoppers in Alabama mall leaving another three in hospital

An eight-year-old boy has died after getting caught in the crossfire by a gunman who opened fire on shoppers in an Alabama mall leaving another three in hospital.  

Royta Giles Jr. was shot in the head when at least one gunman started shooting inside the Riverchase Galleria, Hoover, where the little boy was out shopping with his family Friday afternoon. 

Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis confirmed the little boy's death Friday evening and said a girl and two adults had also been hospitalized following the attack.

'This is certainly a tragic situation when you have an innocent child who gets caught in the middle of an altercation between others,' Derzis said. 

Police would not confirm if any suspects have been identified but said they are working on some promising leads. 

No motive has been given for the shooting but Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr blamed the incident on 'young people and guns', suggesting the victims were caught in the crossfire of a dispute. 

+4

+4

Royta Giles Jr. (pictured) was shot in the head when at least one gunman started shooting inside the Riverchase Galleria, Hoover, where the little boy was out shopping with his family Friday afternoon. He was pronounced dead soon after

Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis confirmed the little boy's death Friday evening and said a girl and two adults had also been hospitalized following the attack at the mall (pictured)

Royta was taken to Children's Hospital by a Hoover Fire Department rescue unit but was pronounced dead soon after his arrival.  

The other three victims - a young girl, an adult male and an adult female - all remain in hospital in unknown conditions.  

Royta's devastated mother confirmed to AL.com hours before his death was announced that her son had been shot in the head.   

'When we all got up, he was the only one who didn't get up,' Royta's mother said.  

She said she was shopping with her son, two other children and the boy's stepfather when gunfire broke out in the mall.

She said they had been lining up to go into children's clothing store Children's Place because of COVID-19 safety precautions limiting the number of people inside at a time. 

'We heard the gunshots and I grabbed them and we hit the ground,' she said. 

The heartbroken mom said they got up when it was safe and that's when she realized Royta had been shot: 'He was the only one who didn't get up.'

+4

Authorities continue their investigation of the shooting at Riverchase Galleria shopping mall

'That's my baby, my firstborn,' she said of the little boy, who was about to enter third grade at Jonesboro Elementary in Bessemer and had dreams of being a rapper. 

'To the people who did this, if I could say anything to them, it's I don't care about justice or anything like that,' she said.

'I wouldn't say I'm religious, I would say I'm more spiritual, and the person who did this is going to have to answer for that whether it's to whoever they pray to or if it's the streets.

'This one hits home. They took a good one.' 

The Bessemer City School system paid tribute to their pupil as 'a smart child, who was a jewel, with big dreams of someday entering the music industry.' 

'Our hearts are simply broken at the tragic loss of Royta. We are here for the family in every way possible, and we ask that everyone lifts the mother, family, and our school community in your prayers. This is tough,' said Bessemer City Schools superintendent, Dr. Autumm Jeter.

'He was bright, articulate, and very convincing. We even tried to convince him to become a lawyer,' former assistant principal Van James said in the school system statement.

+4

Multiple shots were reported near the food court inside the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover Friday afternoon

Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr blamed the incident on 'young people and guns', suggesting the victims were caught in the crossfire of an altercation 

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato called Royta's death a 'senseless tragedy' and said he was 'heartbroken' over the shooting, in a press briefing Friday night. 

He said he visited the boy's devastated parents Friday evening. 

'This was just a very senseless tragedy and of course they are devastated by this,' Brocato said. 

'I want to ask all of the citizens of Hoover and the metropolitan area to pray for this family, keep them in your prayers.' 

Police chief Derzis said the investigation was ongoing in the briefing. 

'Detectives continue their efforts to collect evidence and try to identify possible suspects. We're currently following up on some very good leads and I can tell you we're already making progress,' he said. 

'We will use every available resource to our disposal to make sure that we solve this senseless crime.'

Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr blamed the incident on 'young people and guns', suggesting the victims were caught in the crossfire of an altercation.

'This is another unfortunate incident involving young people and guns and at some point we've got to get a handle on it,' Carr said.

'They don't understand the ramifications of their actions.'  

Multiple shots were reported near the food court inside the state's largest mall at around 3:18 p.m. local time Friday. 

Soon after, police said at least four people had been injured in the shooting and rushed to local hospitals for treatment. 

Police said they did not yet know what led to the shooting or how many gunmen were involved.

The mall was evacuated and police secured the scene.

Authorities have still not confirmed whether any arrests have been made but AL.com reported earlier that a suspect was taken into custody.

A trail of blood was seen going up to the parking deck of the mall and stopped at the curb, leading authorities to believe someone got into a car, AL.com reported. 

Annalisa Pope, who works at Hollister in the mall, told WBMA-TV in a telephone interview that she heard six to seven shots fired.

'It wasn't just one or two,' she said. 'That's what got me off guard. They [the shots] just kept going.'

She said the gunshots 'sounded like they were coming from every direction.'

She added: 'It felt so close. It was so surreal. It doesn't even feel real right now. 

'You wouldn't expect something like that to happen out of nowhere on a normal, Friday afternoon.'

Another witness told AL.com he was shopping with his mother at the Torrid clothing store in the mall when they heard shots fired.  

'We were in the middle of talking to one of the staff members about one of the dresses and then there was a loud bang followed by at least five other small bangs,' said Danno Allgrove, 28.

'Immediately after the gunshots, the Torrid staff worked very quickly and efficiently to get everyone to the back of the store, to the emergency area, and they kind of kept everyone calm until they heard other people were being let out.'

Allgrove said they all escaped through the emergency exit once given the all-clear from authorities where they saw at least one victim - a child - lying in a pool of blood in front of The Children's Place children's store.  

'There was an officer applying first aid and compress to stem the bleeding,' he said. 

Hoover police asked anyone was in the mall who witnessed the shooting to call authorities. 

Riverchase Galleria released a statement on its Facebook page saying it was 'heartbroken' by the incident and that the mall will remain closed Saturday.

'We are heartbroken by the tragic, senseless incident that took place in our shopping center this afternoon,' they said. 

DailyMail.com has reached out to Hoover Police for comment.  

The mall in suburban Birmingham has been the site of at least two fatal shootings in recent years.

The mall in suburban Birmingham has been the site of at least two fatal shootings in recent years. In June 2019, Zach Taylor Music, 20, (right) was shot and killed inside a vehicle on the top floor of the Riverchase Galleria parking deck. Emantic 'EJ' Bradford Jr., 21, was shot dead by a cop at the mall in 2018 

In June 2019, Zach Taylor Music, a 20-year-old UAB student, was shot and killed inside a vehicle on the top floor of the Riverchase Galleria parking deck.   

Michael Akamune, 20, was arrested and charged with murder over the shooting. 

This came after the shopping center was the site of a 2018 police shooting when a cop shot dead black man 21-year-old Emantic 'EJ' Bradford Jr. 

Bradford Jr. was shot three times from behind on Thanksgiving after the cop allegedly mistook him for a gunman in an earlier shooting at the mall.

The victim had been holding a legally owned weapon at the time and had no connection to the earlier shooting incident. 

His killing sparked protests at the mall and the cop was condemned for racially profiling the black man.  

The Alabama attorney general's office cleared the officer - who has never been named - saying he acted 'reasonably under the circumstances' in the encounter that spanned approximately five seconds.