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An apparent carjacking attempt late this evening at the upscale Mall at Short Hills in Millburn led to the shooting of at least one man as he was returning to his vehicle in a multi-level parking deck.

(Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger)

By James Queally and Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger

MILLBURN — An evening of Christmas shopping turned into a violent nightmare tonight when a man returning with his wife to their parked Range Rover at an upscale New Jersey mall was shot in the head, and their vehicle carjacked from a parking deck at the Mall at Short Hills.

UPDATE: Man dies after shooting outside mall

Police said the two suspects both fled in the stolen car and had an alert out for the 2012 silver Range Rover with the license plate U26BVD.

The man, who was not identified, was shot once in the head and rushed to Morristown Medical Center where he was in “grave condition,” said Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray. His wife was not injured.

Murray said the shooting occurred at about 9:10 pm. She said the victim, 30, of Hudson County, had been out with his wife shopping and they were returning to their vehicle when they were confronted by two men. She said the husband had opened the door for his wife and was getting into the driver’s side when he was shot. Murray believed multiple shots were fired.

Authorities believe the two assailants fled in the Range Rover and headed east on Route 24.

“We do not know why that car (was targeted), but it obviously was a car with some value,” said Murray.

The mall, which normally closes early on Sunday, was open for extended holiday shopping hours.

Millburn Mayor Sandra Haimoff said the shooting was of grave concern.

“Our police department is out there and I’m sure they’re doing everything that needs to be done. But it is upsetting and it’s unfortunate that this happened,” she said.

An eyewitness, Robert Newman, 55, a driver for Country Club Services, which provides shuttle service for mall employees, said he heard two gunshots at about 8:30 p.m., and then saw a green Subaru drive by at high rate of speed.

“The Subaru went out of here at about 100 miles per hour,” he said.

It was not known if the Subaru had brought the assailants to the mall.

The shooting occurred on the third level of a parking deck near Nordstrom and California Pizza Kitchen.

Ajia Goods, 19, who works at the Michael Kors boutique in the mall, was shaken up by the news of the shooting. “This is the first time anything has happened like this since I’ve worked here,” she said.

But many mall employees said they were not notified of the shooting. Wendy Klein, 47, of Summit who works at the Au Bon Pain restaurant, said she only learned of the incident after she left work.

“We didn’t hear anything until we came out here,” she said, calling the mall and its surrounding area safe.

“My mother lives in this place. It’s a fluke,” she said. “Maybe somebody saw somebody walk out of here with something expensive.”

The Mall at Short Hills, located 10 miles west of Newark Liberty International Airport, has 150 stores and restaurants, anchored by Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.

The incident comes a month after a troubled 20-year-old Teaneck man dressed in black, wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying a rifle with extra ammunition in a backpack, entered the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, firing up to six shots randomly into the ceiling. The body of the lone gunman was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No one else was injured.

Carolyn A. Murray, Acting Essex County Prosecutor, center, holds a press conference regarding a shooting in a parking lot at the Mall at Short Hills.

While shoplifting is a constant issue at the mall, violent crime is rarely reported, but there have been a number of carjackings over the years.

In September 2009, a Hillside man was charged with attempted kidnapping, carjacking and robbery after he was charged with forcing his way into the car of a 56-year-old woman from Randolph who had been shopping at the mall, pulling out a knife and demanding money, police said.

After the woman turned over cash and jewelry, he told her to drive to an ATM. Instead, she opened her car door and ran.

In February 2006, two women were carjacked at gunpoint outside a mall restaurant, Joe’s American Bar & Grill. The two were getting into a silver 2004 Jeep Liberty when they were approached by two men. One had a gun, told the women to get out of the car and leave the keys inside the vehicle.

And in October of 2002, a 76-year-old woman from Caldwell returning to her car was robbed by a man who forced his way into her Cadillac parked near the Saks Fifth Avenue department store and stole her cash and jewelry, police said.

The man told the shopper he had a gun, but she never saw one, police said. He robbed her of her wedding and engagement rings and a bracelet.

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