SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- A black and teal hat with the letter "m" on the front was enough to motivate a boy to pull out a gun and fire inside a San Jose mall packed with Black Friday shoppers, investigators wrote in court documents. The 17-year-old gunman shot the man wearing the hat, two female shoppers were shot in the crossfire, and thousands of terrified shoppers ran for their lives out of Westfield Valley Fair Mall on November 28. When the teen opened fire, "There were babies and bystanders all around him," Police Chief Paul Joseph said. The gunman slipped away by blending into a panicked crowd, and accomplices helped him evade law enforcement as officers swarmed the mall, police said. San Jose Police Department Gang Investigations Unit Detective Guevara went to a hospital where the targeted victim, a 28-year-old man who had been shot in the chest, was receiving medical treatment. "The victim ... told her that he was an active Sureno criminal street gang member from Santa Cruz. The victim told her that he had a black and teal hat with the letter 'M' on the front at the time of the shooting. Sureno subsets use the letter M to identify themselves with their neighborhood. Det. Guevara observed the victim's gang affiliation tattoos," court documents state. Westfield Valley Fair shopping mall is seen in 2023. (Philip Pacheco/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Two more shooting victims, a 16-year-old girl and 18-year-old woman, also survived their gunshot wounds. Two days after the shooting, detectives tracked down and arrested the suspected gunman at a home in San Jose. Police said the 17-year-old boy was already on juvenile probation and was known as a "violent gang member." Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen is seeking to transfer the former James Lick High School student's case from juvenile court to adult court. Prosecutors charged him with attempted murder. "This teenager turned Valley Fair Mall into a war zone," Rosen said. "We are filing the most serious charges and asking that they be heard in adult court, where the consequences reflect the recklessness and danger of fighting a senseless gang war inside a mall crowded with holiday shoppers. Six bullets hit three people, shut down the city’s largest mall and sent fear through our community." The Westfield Valley Fair shooting suspect is handcuffed on Nov. 30, 2025. The suspect's head is blacked out by police because he is a minor. (Photo via SJPD) Police identified the boy's alleged accomplices as: his older brother, Christian Joel Duran, 21; his brother's girlfriend, Allana Nevaeh Murillo, 21; and a third adult, Evan John Moniz, 33. According to investigators, Murillo was pushing her baby in a stroller while she walked around the mall with Duran and his brother on Black Friday. She was still pushing the baby stroller when she helped the gunman flee the scene, police said. Prosecutors charged the trio of adults with accessory to attempted murder. All three pleaded not guilty, and their preliminary hearing is slated for Jan. 12, 2026. This week, San Jose's city council and mayor honored residents who live near the mall and helped shoppers find safe places to hide immediately after the shooting. Irene and Martin Garcia allowed dozens of shoppers to hide inside their home until they felt safe enough to leave, city leaders said. The Garcia family "showed us what humanity looks like in the midst of chaos," Mayor Matt Mahan said. "We thanked them for opening their door, making so many people feel calm and safe in such a terrible moment and exemplifying what it means to be a good neighbor. It would have been so easy to turn off the lights and lock the door that day when thousands began running through the neighborhood. They chose to help. In a moment when it’s so easy to feel divided, we need more people like Irene and Martin who bring us together," the mayor wrote. ...read more read less