Shooting at Galleria mall’s Blue Martini kills man minutes before his birthday, cops say

A shooting inside the Blue Martini at The Galleria mall in Fort Lauderdale killed one person and injured two others, Fort Lauderdale police said Thursday.

Officers arrived at the scene at 11:51 p.m. Wednesday and took the shooter into custody, Fort Lauderdale police spokesman Casey Liening said.

Declared dead in the bar was Miami resident Arnold Person. He would have turned 44 Thursday.

“People jumped on [the shooter] to stop him from shooting more people,” witness Mark Hunter told Miami Herald news partner CBS4. “That was a good thing. They jumped on him and another dude picked the gun up.”

Police say the violence came after an argument inside the bar.

“We believe this incident occurred as a result of an altercation inside the establishment,” Liening said in an email.

Blue Martini issued a statement on Thursday.

“This isolated incident is the result of an altercation that took a tragic turn. We applaud the Fort Lauderdale Police for their quick response which led to one suspect in custody. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased victim and two others who were injured.”

This story was originally published May 9, 2019 at 6:18 AM.