(CNN) -- At least five people have been wounded in
a shooting at a shopping mall near downtown Tacoma, Washington, fire officials
said.

"At this time, the situation is still evolving," said Jon Lendosky, deputy
chief of the Tacoma Fire Department. "We're still right in the middle of
it."

Lendosky said five people had been sent to hospitals. But another fire
official, Lt. David Elmer, said earlier that eight people had been reported
hurt.

The shootings began at about 12:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m. ET), Lendosky said.

"There are still people in the mall, and we're on the scene with about 40
firefighters and about 15 units right now," he said.

Tacoma Mall is about four miles south of downtown Tacoma. No one was entering
or leaving the mall, which contains dozens of stores, Lendosky said.

A woman who answered the phone at one store said her manager told her police
had ordered a lockdown at the shopping center, and a police dispatcher said the
situation was "still in progress."

"We've got police on every corner here," said Joanne Woods, an employee at
Krispy Kreme, across the street from the mall.

"It's sad that people have gotten hurt, but it's a nice neighborhood," she
said.