Gunfire erupted outside Western Hills Mall Thursday afternoon, leaving the mall manager dead on the sidewalk, an innocent victim caught in the crossfire, police said.

Dozens of bullets were exchanged at the mall's north entrance when police say two groups of young men recognized each other and opened fire.

The manager - Anthony Alberigi, 59 - was struck and collapsed on the sidewalk where he was pronounced dead.

Witnesses and police said the gunfight continued well after the warring groups left the mall parking lot.

Multiple cars were shot up in the Western Hills lot, a nearby car dealership also took stray bullets and another innocent victim was grazed as he drove along Interstate 59/20.

Three suspects were taken into custody off the interstate. It wasn't immediately clear just how many more were involved and are still sought.

"It's shocking,'' said Fairfield Police Chief Nick Dyer. "It's devastating actually."

Dyer said it all began about 2:30 p.m. There was one group of young men outside of the mall when another group of young men exited the building. "They recognized each other and started shooting each other and the mall manager was caught in the crossfire,'' Dyer said.

Mall workers said Alberigi went to see what was going on and that's when he was gunned down. Police have not confirmed that account, and said Alberigi was often known to walk the building's perimeter. "He was just an innocent victim standing outside the mall,'' the chief said.

The suspects fled the scene. Jefferson County sheriff's deputies, Birmingham police and Fairfield officers stopped the vehicle of one of the suspect groups on I-59/20 on the ramp of exit 123. Three suspects bailed from the Dodge Charger on foot.

The driver ran up the hill on the exit ramp and was quickly chased down by a sheriff's deputy. The Charger rolled back into the deputy's cruiser. Police said three high-powered weapons were found in the Charger.

Two other suspects fled into a nearby wooded area between the interstate and Birmingham Southern College, which prompted fear and a lockdown on campus. School officials sent out an alert warning students and staff that read "Shelter in place immediately. Do not go outside."

A couple of other schools - Minor Elementary School and Bush Academy - were also temporarily put on lockdown as a precaution only.

The two remaining fleeing suspects split up once they hit the woods line. Jefferson County sheriff's tracking dog teams led the search for them. The Birmingham Police Department's West Precinct Task Force captured the other two suspects not far from where they abandoned their vehicle - one on a baseball field and the other at a nearby intersection.

During the massive search, another victim was discovered by Birmingham police. The male victim was found inside a vehicle on I-59/20 northbound at Arkadelphia Road. Birmingham police Sgt. Bryan Shelton said the city's gunfire detection system - Shot Spotter - first alerted them to shooting and said they received multiple 911 calls. That victim was grazed in the head, and Shelton said he is believed to be a victim of the same groups of suspects.

Later Thursday night, Shelton said the victim is stable. He said their investigation so far confirms their initial belief that the suspects in the mall shooting are also the suspects in the shooting of the victim found on the interstate.

"We don't believe the (Birmingham) victim was the intended target of the shooting, however we cannot give a reason why the suspects opened fire on the interstate or who they may have been shooting at,'' Shelton said.

He said there are still three suspects in custody, with a fourth at large. No description was available. "We want to thank the Jefferson County deputy's who were vigilant in crime fighting with us today, and the Fairfield Police Department for their hard work,'' Shelton said.

"We have people in our streets who don't care about anyone other than themselves. As a department, we will continue with the reduction of violent crime as our number one priority,'' he said. "It's not something we can do alone, but with the citizens of Birmingham who want better, and who deserve better."

Back at Western Hills Mall, dozens of shoppers, employees, and onlookers gathered outside, stunned by the afternoon violence. The bullets struck at least four vehicles in the parking lot, shattering windows and peppering the bodies of the cars with holes. The windows on the mall's side entrance also were shot out.

A woman who works at the threading spa inside the mall described a frantic situation. She said the gunfire erupted, stopped and then started up again.

"It's too much,'' she said, asking that her name not be used. "It was so scary. There were too many shots to count. This is completely unsafe."

Crystal Crawford Youngblood was sitting on the front porch of a nearby home when she heard the barrage of gunfire. She said the shooting continued after the suspects drove away and fled the scene. "I heard multiple gunshots, and it was big guns. Over 100,'' she said. "I said, 'Somebody's dead.' This is so sad."

Justin Maddox, 26, was working inside at a t-shirt shop when he heard the commotion. "It was non-stop shooting,'' he said. "I ducked down, ran to the back. That's all we could do. As soon as it happened, we took cover."

Alberigi, the mall manager, was friendly and well-liked, Maddox said. "He was easy to talk to,'' he said. "You never knew if he had a bad day because he was just that easy going."

Maddox said his shop was about 100 yards from the gunfire. "This isn't the first time this has happened,'' he said.

Maddox's worried mother ran to the scene, where tears streamed down her face. Maddox repeatedly hugged her and said he didn't want to work at the mall anymore if it was going to cause his mother such fear. "I'd rather not,'' he said.

Maddox said he had one message for the community: "Stop the violence."

Dyer said the gun violence is a problem countrywide, not just in Fairfield or the Birmingham metropolitan area. "I don't think it's any worse here than it is anywhere else,'' he said. "Right now, it's just a tragedy because an innocent man who has worked in this community for many, many years - since I've worked here he's been the mall manager - is dead and that's the issue I have."

"It's an issue everywhere and we need to stop it everywhere,'' Dyer said. "It's not just an issue in Fairfield."

Dyer joined the Fairfield police department 15 years ago and became the chief of police about two years ago. He said he's know the victim for the duration of his law enforcement career. "He was a good man. He treated everybody nice,'' he said. "He was always walking around, standing outside talking to people. For you to keep a job that long here, he was a great man."

He described Western Hills Mall as the hub of the city. "It's been here forever,'' Dyer said. "When all of the other big businesses left, it's still been the constant."

Dyer said he is in the early stages of the investigation, but said he's obviously grieved over what happened Thursday afternoon. "It's a grave concern. Anybody could have been standing out here,'' he said. "The carelessness of people, with people standing in the way, to still shoot each other, there's nothing that could be that deep for you to have to do that."