KENDALL, Fla. — A shoplifting suspect was shot by police Friday night after the man pulled out a gun-shaped knife at a South Florida mall, investigators said.

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Miami-Dade police responded around 8:30 p.m. to a possible shoplifting at a Macy’s department store at the Falls Shopping Center; when the suspect was leaving the store he was shot after he pulled what looked like a gun but turned out to be a knife, WPLG reported.

“You can clearly see that this thing, this object, looks identical to a firearm, but it was later determined that it was in fact not a firearm, it was a knife,” Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, police spokesperson, told WPLG.

The shooting victim was taken to a hospital for treatment. He is in critical but stable condition.

There were no other injuries, WFOR reported. Investigators said shoppers were never in any danger.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating because the shooting involved a police officer.

Cox Media Group