CONCORD, N.C. — One person is in critical condition after exchanging gunfire with police inside Concord Mills Mall, according Concord police.

Three male suspects led police on a footchase through the mall before one pulled out a gun and fired at the officers, said Maj. Todd McGhee, with the Concord Police Department.

Police did not identify the three suspects or give their ages.

The shooting happened before 1 p.m. on the mall's campus, located on Concord Mills Boulevard. The mall went into lockdown and police surrounded it after the shooting.

McGhee said someone called 911 from the mall to report that three males stole their credit cards. The caller gave a description of the three.

Two Concord police officers found three matching the description outside the mall, but they ran from the officers, McGhee said. The footchase led through the building and into a store still under constution, where one of the suspects allegedly pulled out a gun and fired at the officers, he said.

McGhee said a bullet hit the ground in front of the two officers. The officers told the suspect to drop his gun before they both returned fire, he said.

The wounded suspect was taken to a hospital in Charlotte in critical condition. The two other suspects were arrested outside the mall.

The State Bureau of Investigation will investigate the shooting, which is standard procedure in a police shooting.

One of the officers involved has been with the Concord Police Department for 10 years and the other finished training and joined the department within the past two months, McGhee said.

McGhee commended the mall for the quick reaction and lockdown during the shooting.

"Concord Mills Mall has policies and plans in place for terrible situations like this, and I want to give them credit for following those plans and helping in the early investigation," he said.

Concord police asked if people have cellphone or other video footage of the shooting to please contact the SBI.

The mall remained closed Wednesday after the shooting, and reopened during normal hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.