Wichita police identify teen shot, killed at Towne East as mall reopens to shoppers

Wichita police on Saturday released the name of the 14-year-old shot and killed after a scuffle Friday night at Towne East Square.

Trenjvious Hutton, 14, of Wichita was shot several times and died at the scene.

Police said they have arrested a 16-year-old on suspicion of second-degree murder.

Police said the shooting was thought to be gang-related.

The mall reopened Saturday. General manager Stephanie Satrape said in a phone call Saturday morning that all questions needed to be directed to police. When asked if the mall would increase security, she said: “All media inquiries can be directed to the police department.”

In a news release, police chief Lem Moore said: “Any death stemming from a shooting is traumatic for our community. Especially when it involves one of our youths at a very busy shopping area. WPD will be proactively providing extra resources at this shopping area to ensure safety of patrons and employees.”

The incident started around 5:30 p.m. The shooting came after a fistfight near the food court.

Police said Hutton “was involved in a physical altercation with several individuals known to him stemming from an ongoing dispute.”

“During the altercation, one of the juveniles brandished a firearm, shooting the victim several times,” said Chad Ditch, a police spokesman.

Video of the shooting circled on social media. It appeared to show five people fighting, when four shots were fired.

Police took a young male into custody shortly after the shooting. He was armed with a black handgun. They took a second teen into custody shortly after. Police said a 17-year-old with the 16-year-old was detained, questioned and released.

Police found two handguns during the investigation.

Witnesses inside and outside the mall talked about the chaos after the shooting.

One witness, a woman in her early 20s, told The Eagle she saw and heard the argument that led to the shooting, but ran when she heard gunshots and did not stick around to see who was hit.

Another witness, a young man who works at a store in the mall, said he was on his lunch break at the food court when the shooting broke out. He described it as a “scene of chaos” as terrified employees and shoppers bolted for the exits.

Amy Patel, 42, was shopping with her husband at the mall when the shooting broke out. They were in different stores when she heard the shots.

She was in the Aeropostale store on the upper level and after the shooting, joined a group of about 10 people who evacuated into a service hallway that runs behind the stores.

“I just ran, my husband was inside so I’m a little scared,” she said. “We were just scared and we don’t know where we were going to go.”

They wound up exiting through an employees-only door.

She was able to contact her husband by phone and found out he was safe. But he was kept inside by police as they sifted through potential witnesses, and he hadn’t been released two hours after the shooting.

Katherine Morales, husband Rocky and their children (ages 14, 13 and 3) were meeting someone in the JC Penney parking lot to sell a vehicle when they heard gunshots. Dozens of people came running out of the exits.

“We saw families running out crying and screaming,” Rocky said. “Mothers, kids, children. There was a dad that had a stroller, the whole stroller, (carrying it) in his hands. He was running. To see that kind of stuff, it’s crazy.”

Contributing: Chance Swaim of The Eagle

This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 11:16 AM.