WOODBRIDGE — A suspected shoplifter who held a woman hostage at knifepoint inside Woodbridge Center was shot to death by a police officer this evening, setting off a scene of chaos inside one of New Jersey's largest shopping malls, authorities said.

The incident unfolded shortly after 5 p.m. on the upper level of the mall’s Sears wing. After he was confronted by mall security for an alleged shoplifting in the Hollister Co. apparel store, the suspect put a knife to the throat of a random shopper and pulled her inside the Sears store, according to several officials familiar with the incident who were not authorized to comment publicly.

An off-duty Woodbridge police officer who was wearing his police uniform and working an extra duty job at the mall shot the suspect, killing him, according to a news release issued late tonight by Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan and Woodbridge Police Director Robert Hubner.

"After a brief pursuit, the suspect grabbed a female shopper and threatened her with a knife, according to the preliminary report by Woodbridge police," the release said. "Woodbridge police reported that after repeated warnings, the officer fired at the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene."

The hostage, who was not immediately identified, was not injured, authorities said. The officer also was not identified.

An employee at the f.y.e. entertainment store, in the same wing as Sears, said she saw security guards try unsuccessfully to wrestle the man to the ground.

The employee said she heard someone yell "Knife!" and saw a blade in the man’s hand as he ran past.

He continued running, the employee said, before grabbing a woman who had been at a candy machine next to the Sears entrance.

"When I stepped out, you could see him dragging her by the hair and see him backing up into Sears as if he was trying to get away," the shaken employee said.

When police arrived, "They said, look, drop your weapon ... and he didn’t — and that’s when they fired," the employee said.

At about 7:30 p.m., a woman from Sears was wheeled upright in a gurney into a waiting ambulance, using her clothing to shield her face from television cameras. It was not immediately known whether that was the woman was the one who was being held.

With about 220 stores and 1.5 million square feet of space, Woodbridge Center is the third-largest shopping mall in New Jersey, behind only Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus and Freehold Raceway Mall. The mall is located just off Route 1, in the shadows of the Garden State Parkway.

The wing where the shooting happened includes major brands such as Hollister Co. apparel, f.y.e. entertainment and the family-oriented Disney Store.

Investigators from the Woodbridge Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office were at the scene tonight investigating the shooting.

Jim O'Neill, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said the state Attorney General’s office was notified of the shooting — as is routine for shootings involving police.

It was the fourth police-involved shooting in the county since September. Two people were shot by officers in New Brunswick, one fatally, and another person was wounded in Monroe Township.

By Ryan Hutchins and Tomás Dinges/ The Star-Ledger

Star-Ledger staff writers Tom Haydon, Mike Frassinelli, James Queally and William Perlman contributed to this report.