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Man Suspected of Forcing Wesfield Century City Mall Evacuation Arrested

Los Angeles Police officers Sunday arrested Nicolas k. Oates, 25, who is accused for starting a fire in an Amazon book store and brandishing a weapon in Westfield Century City Mall on March 15 that prompted an evacuation of the mall and surrounding areas.

Officers recognized Oates on the Venice Beach boardwalk and took him into custody without incident, according to the LAPD. Police also stated that the suspect's handgun has not been found. 

The Westfield Century City Mall was evacuated for hours Friday after police responded to a report of a man with a gun, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The mall reopened Friday evening after police gave the all clear and no gunman was found. 

Police released a photo of an alleged suspect late Friday night and was considered armed and dangerous.

Police said the suspect lit several books on fire inside an Amazon Books store and threatened an employee with a small pistol he pulled from his backpack. 

Parts of the mall in the 10200 block Santa Monica Boulevard were evacuated, and large crowds of people gathered outside. Other people were told to shelter inside the shopping center.

Paul Almond, a Century City attorney, told City News Service he was having lunch at Toscanova in the mall when the restaurant manager said police had ordered him to evacuate the restaurant. At that point the manager told diners and workers to leave immediately.

Almond said he walked out of the mall and was joined on the sidewalk by numerous other shoppers and diners who had also been ordered out. He then went to a building housing a bank on the east side of Avenue of the Stars, across the street from the mall, and found that building too had been locked down.

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