VALDOSTA — Two teens were charged in a Sunday shooting incident at the Valdosta Mall.

At 2:30 p.m., an off-duty police officer heard a gunshot at the mall while shopping with his family, a Valdosta Police Department statement said.

As people ran, witnesses pointed to a suspect, whom the officer grabbed since he looked like he was about to run, the statement said. Many officers and Lowndes County deputies arrived at the mall within minutes.

Officers determined the gunshot was possibly an accidental discharge by someone who had a gun in their pants; one spent shell casing was found.

The suspect was uncooperative and resisted the off-duty officer’s requests, but there was no evidence connecting him to the case so he was let go, police said.

At 4:40 p.m., mall security told E911 that subjects involved in the earlier incident had returned. When officers arrived, they found two men who resisted arrest and refused to identify themselves. A mall security officer said he saw one of the suspects pull a gun from his jacket and hide it under a trailer as police arrived.

Marcus Darius Melvin, 17, of Valdosta and Quincy Keshawn Williams, 17, of Waycross were charged with two counts of misdemeanor obstruction of a law enforcement officer. Williams was also charged with misdemeanor possession of a firearm by a person under 18, misdemeanor tampering with evidence and misdemeanor possession of a tobacco product by a person under 18, the police statement said.

No injuries were reported in the shooting incident.

“The response of our off-duty officer who was shopping with his family was incredible,” said Police Chief Leslie Manahan. “He left his family and went to where the gunshot was heard coming from. When witnesses pointed out a person they felt was involved, he took immediate action. If Melvin was not involved, he should have just cooperated with our officer’s requests from the beginning. During the second interaction Melvin had with our uniformed officers, he still resisted them and was arrested. We are extremely grateful that no one was injured yesterday.”

Anyone with information on this case should contact the Valdosta Police Department Bureau of Investigative Services at 229-293-3145, the crime tip line at 229-293-3091, or file a tip online at www.valdostacity.com/police-department.