WCBS-TV reported that shots were fired at the Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall around 9.30pm on Monday (1330 AEDT Tuesday). There were no immediate reports of injuries.
People inside the mall tell the television station that it is on lockdown.
Emergency radio transmissions say authorities are waiting for SWAT teams to arrive. No contact has been made with a shooter.
The mall is located in Bergen County in northern New Jersey, about 35 kilometres southwest of New York.
There have been no reported injuries at this time.
One gunman dressed in black was being sought by police, NBC said.
Witnesses gave varying accounts of the number of shots they heard, the reports said.
Many stores scrambled to close their gates, but CNN cited Bergen county officials as saying the suspect was still at large over an hour after the shooting was first heard at the popular mall.
Shocked workers and shoppers scurried out in a an alarming incident that recalled September's tragedy at a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya where an attack claimed by Somalia's al-Qaeda linked Shabab killed at least 67 people.
Images taken at the scene have appeared on social media.
More details to come.
Share
