Hundreds run from Holyoke Mall after shots fired; nail salon worker slain by bullet intended for someone else, police say

Hundreds of people ran screaming from the Holyoke Mall on Saturday while others sought safety inside stores after a shooting at a salon in which an employee was inadvertently killed, authorities said Monday.

In a report filed in Holyoke District Court, police said a nail salon technician was found in a pool of blood on the floor of the Touch of Beauty Hair & Nail Salon around 7 p.m. as two Good Samaritans held towels on his chest.

The man, who prosecutors said was an innocent bystander, "appeared completely lifeless, with a very weak pulse," police said. Paramedics who arrived moments later pronounced him dead. He was identified as Trung Tran, 33, of West Springfield.

In the back of the salon, officers found Kenneth J. Rodriguez-Santana, 23, who allegedly admitted he fired two shots, police said. He told police he was licensed to carry a handgun. A spokesman for the Springfield police department on Monday said the department did issue Rodriguez-Santana a handgun license after a review found no reason he could be disqualified. He declined further comment citing privacy laws on firearms licenses.

Rodriguez-Santana said his girlfriend's former boyfriend confronted them both in the salon, argued with him, and displayed a handgun at his waist, the report stated.

Rodriguez-Santana "told us that he thought the male was going to shoot him, stating ‘It was him or me,’ and told us that he shot his gun twice," police wrote. Officers recovered a 9mm handgun from him and two shell casings at the scene, police wrote.

Police confirmed that he was licensed to carry a gun, but it was not immediately clear which department issued the license to the Springfield resident. He was arrested at the mall.

Rodriguez-Santana pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and was ordered held without bail by Holyoke District Court Judge William P. Hadley. The judge cited the murder charge as the reason for ordering Rodriguez-Santana detained until his next court appearance, scheduled for Feb. 27.

According to employees at the salon, Tran was giving Rodriguez-Santana a pedicure and was also doing his girlfriend's nails when her former boyfriend entered the shop.

The former boyfriend "began accusing the female of cheating and sleeping around and then [the co-worker] said that it looked like that male punched the shooter and then the shooter pulled out a gun and shot at the other male party," police wrote. "At this time [the victim] was struck instead as he tried to get out of the way of the disturbance."

The report also included accounts from terrified witnesses, including the mother of a 13-year-old girl who was holding her 9-month-old sibling inside the salon when shots broke out.

The mother told police that "her daughter was sitting next to the shooter and the victim, holding the 9-month-old, and that she had fled from the store in hysterics," police wrote. "The mother had chased after her leaving behind her baby's stroller. She requested her stroller and help finding her 13-year-old-daughter."

The mother and daughter were later reunited, police said.

Other reports from officers detailed the chaos.

"I observed people running in all directions," one officer wrote. "I pulled up to the main entrance of Round 1 [bowling alley] where a stampede of people were frantically trying to get out of the building ... we could see people running for exits and others hiding inside store fronts."

"As I entered the mall, I could see numerous parties running and walking towards all exits," another wrote. "Many were screaming or crying and appeared frantic ... I could see dozens of parties standing outside ‘A Touch of Beauty Hair & Nail Salon." They saw me and began to scream and point, "he's in there!"

Officers encountered a second armed man who told police he ran "in the direction of the shooting in order to try and help" before deciding he didn't want to put himself in a dangerous situation in an enclosed space.

Police determined the man had a valid license to carry, returned his gun, and released him.

"Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni expresses his sympathies to Mr. Tran's family," said the district attorney's office in a statement.

Travis Andersen of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.

John R. Ellement can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.