CINCINNATI -- A mall shopper shot and killed a 16-year-old boy who attempted a robbery on the sidewalk outside, possibly in pursuit of a pair of limited-edition athletic shoes, police in southwest Ohio said Monday.

Dayton Mall.

A Miami Township police official said the slain teenager and two other youths went to the Dayton Mall on Saturday morning for a shoe sale. Sgt. Joe Phares told reporters Monday that details were still being investigated, but that the teens apparently got there too late to buy the shoes they wanted. He didn't have any details on the shoes.

Police said the three juveniles from Middletown then approached two men outside and demanded their merchandise. They said one juvenile showed a gun, and one of the adults who had a permit to carry a concealed weapon then fired his own gun. It wasn't clear whether the adults actually had the shoes the youths were seeking.



"This was a random act of, 'I want something that person has, and I'm going to take it from him," Phares told reporters. "It didn't go down the way they thought it would."







Phares said he didn't have details on the kinds of weapons involved, but said investigators told him the juvenile's gun was a real firearm. Two young people have been killed in Ohio in recent months carrying what turned out to be pellet guns.



Police responded Saturday morning to a reported shooting at the Dayton Mall just off Interstate 75 near the southern suburb of Centerville. The Montgomery County coroner's office said the teenager died at 10:55 a.m. Saturday. The coroner Monday identified him as Jawaad Jabbar and said he died of a gunshot to the torso. Police said no one else was injured.



Police said the other two teens were being held in juvenile detention in Dayton. Phares said it's too soon to say what charges could be brought.



Several news media outlets reported that Jabbar was a student and athlete at Middletown High School. A message was left at the school, which was on holiday break. A message was also left Monday at a Jabbar family residence in Middletown.



"It's a terrible thing," Phares said.



The adult shopper's identity wasn't released immediately.