Father Convinces Suspected Penn Square Mall Shooter To Surrender To Police

The suspected Penn Square Mall shooter's father urged him to surrender to law enforcement, according to police.

Friday, December 20th 2019, 5:32 pm

By: News 9

Father Convinces Suspected Penn Square Mall Shooter To Surrender To Police

The suspected Penn Square Mall shooter's father urged him to surrender to law enforcement, according to police.

Authorities arrested Elizha Sanders, 24, on Friday in Moore.

Police released the 911 calls mall patrons and employees made moments after the shooting on Thursday.

911 Dispatcher: “Have you seen a shooter?”

Caller: “He was in our store, he shot at our store.

911 Dispatcher: “OK, what store?”

Caller: “Foot Locker.”

The gunfire caused panic and chaos.

Caller: “I heard about eight gunshots and everybody screaming.”

Customers and employees dropped everything and ran for cover or left the mall.

When police arrived, they found a wounded 22-year-old Gerron Cobb just outside Foot Locker.

The arrest warrant revealed Cobb "crawled out of the store" after he was shot at least twice.

Witnesses told them Cobb and Sanders were yelling and fighting inside the store prior to the shooting.

911 Dispatcher: “Two black males? What kind of clothing were they wearing?”

Caller: “They were fighting when they ripped their clothes off.”

When the fight ended, police said Sanders pulled a gun from his pants and shot at Cobb. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The mall was placed on lockdown while police spent hours inside evacuating everyone and searched for the suspect.

“It took approximately three hours to search the entire building,” said Capt. Larry Withrow, Oklahoma City Police Department. “Penn Square Mall is a very large venue. It was a very chaotic situation. There were a large number of people there.”

Police later learned Sanders fled the mall. Investigators reached out to his father, who urged Sanders to turn himself over to authorities.

“Early this morning Elizha Sanders was arrested in Moore, Oklahoma by members of the US Marshals, Oklahoma City gang and the criminal intelligence unit,” said Withrow. “He was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail early this morning.”

Sanders is being held for assault with a deadly weapon, his bail was set at $500,000.

","published":"2019-12-20T23:32:42.000Z","updated":"2019-12-20T23:41:41.000Z","summary":"The suspected Penn Square Mall shooter's father urged him to surrender to law enforcement, according to police.","affiliate":{"_id":"5cc353fe1c9d440000d3b70f","callSign":"kwtv","origin":"https://www.news9.com"},"contentClass":"crime","createdAt":"2020-01-31T18:00:02.294Z","updatedAt":"2022-03-30T20:07:57.144Z","__v":2,"breakingNews":[],"entities":[{"_id":"6244b89d6880e45323a0a60d","text":"Elizha Sanders","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"624219fa6880e45323a175e9","text":"Gerron Cobb","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62391cbb6880e45323f567aa","text":"Moore","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"623b36136880e4532348cf90","text":"OKC","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"624219f96880e45323a17501","text":"Penn Square Mall","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"6244b89d6880e45323a0a645","text":"Foot Locker","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"624227346880e45323b8e7c2","text":"Cobb","type":"LOCATION","__v":0}],"hasBeenCheckedForEntities":true,"openInNewWindow":false,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e346b22527dcf49dad6ca10/father-convinces-suspected-penn-square-mall-shooter-to-surrender-to-police","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e346b22527dcf49dad6ca10"};