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Deadly shooting of 13-year-old girl is latest violent crime at Concord Mills

It’s not the first violent crime NBC Charlotte has reported on at Concord Mills. Earlier this year, a man was shot inside the movie theater at the mall.

CONCORD, N.C. — The deadly shooting of a 13-year-old girl is raising questions about safety at Concord Mills.

Concord Police say Aveanna Propst and two other teenagers were shot in the parking lot of the Dave and Busters around 8:40 p.m. on Saturday. Investigators are still trying to identify the shooter.  

RELATED: Police release surveillance photos after fatal shooting outside Concord Mills Dave & Buster's

It’s not the first violent crime NBC Charlotte has reported on at Concord Mills. Earlier this year, a man was shot inside the movie theater at the mall.

RELATED: 'I have a huge hole in my leg:' Man says he was shot at movie theater over dispute about seat; suspect arrested

In the latest case, police say the deadly shooting happened during a fight at the mall; it’s possible the victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Propst, 13, will never see another holiday again. Just days after Christmas, police say she was shot and killed in the parking lot of Dave & Buster's.

“I love you so much Aveanna and I will miss you,” her friend Laila Massey said.

Concord police released video surveillance of the suspect. The video is not clear, but investigators hope someone will recognize the suspect’s distinctive hoodie. 

Credit: Concord PD

Massey is calling for the suspect to come forward.

“I feel they should turn themselves in instead of running from the situation,” she said.

At this point, investigators do not believe Propst was the intended target of the shooting. Two other shooting victims, 15-year-old and 16-year-old boys, were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

“We believe the two male juveniles that were hit were possibly in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Concord Police said on Saturday.

The deadly shooting is the latest violent crime at Concord Mills. 

In March, a man was shot in the AMC movie theater at the mall. The victim, William Weldon, previously said he was shot after he showed the suspect he was in the wrong seat.

“That guy was young and he was itching to you use his pistol, he was itching to use it, he needed any little excuse,” Weldon previously said.

Last August, a man told NBC Charlotte he was carjacked by two armed suspects in the Dave & Buster's parking lot.  

RELATED: Man poses as panhandler, steals car at Concord Mills

In the latest case, Propst's teacher told NBC Charlotte she was an eighth-grader at Ace Academy Charter School. 

“She was kind, smart, confident in herself,” Massey said.

It was one of two deadly shootings in Concord on Saturday night. Omarrionne Hudson, 16, is now wanted for the murder of 31-year-old Derron Jordan in a separate case.  

RELATED: Concord police searching for 16-year-old murder suspect

It is unclear if that shooting has any connections to the Concord Mills shooting, but detectives said the warrant for Hudson's arrest is not related to that incident.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred Saturday evening outside the exterior entrance to Dave & Buster’s," an official statement from Concord Mills said, in part. "We are working closely with Dave & Buster’s and the Concord Police Department to further understand the nature of the dispute that took place inside Dave & Buster’s space which ultimately escalated outside of their entrance.”

NBC Charlotte reached out to Dave & Buster's for a statement, but at this point have not gotten a response about the incident.

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