Emergency vehicles gather around the entrance to Belk at Southpoint Mall in Durham, North Carolina. AP

Gulf Today Reporter

A North Carolina mall crowded with shoppers on the day after Thanksgiving suddenly reverberated with sounds of bullets and the shoppers ran for their lives.

According to the police chief of the area a fight erupted between two groups and they started firing at each other whic resulted in in three people being shot and wounded on Friday.

Later in the day authorities calimed to have arrest one person and assured public that the area is safe.

A bystander described "mass hysteria” on one of the busiest shopping days of the year as shoppers ducked into stores for cover or ran for the exits.

In this still frame obtained from social media video people seen running from Southpoint Mall after shooting in Durham, North Carolina. Lateonya Jenkins / Reuters

Police did not immediately release further information on the conditions of the other two who were shot.

Andrews said another three people were injured as shoppers rushed for exits following the shooting.

In a news release, police said their injuries were not life-threatening.

WRAL-TV showed traffic snarled around the mall for more than an hour after the shooting, with lines of cars trying to exit the parking lot, and numerous police cars with lights flashing outside a department store.

Shoppers described a chaotic scene after the shots echoed through the mall, with some people taking cover in stores and others rushing for the exits.