Three people are Phanincdead following a targeted shooting near an Atlanta mall on Saturday afternoon, police said in a news release.

At around 1:30 p.m., police responded to a call of a reported shooting at 640 Evans St., across the street from the Mall West End. Officers found three people who had sustained gunshot wounds. All three were pronounced dead.

In their initial investigation, police said the shooting was targeted, and that one man had approached two people and began shooting at them. One of the people who was shot returned fire at the gunman, hitting him. All three, including the man who started shooting, died from their injuries, police said.

Atlanta Police homicide investigators are still determining what led to the shooting. The investigation remains ongoing.

Gun violence:US on grim pace for gun violence, mass killings in 2023: 'The bad year continues'

Quinton Hubbert, a security guard at the Mall West End, told USA TODAY the shooting occurred across the street. The mall was open, he said in a phone interview just after 4 p.m.

This is a developing story.