The Westbrook man accused of shooting someone inside the Maine Mall appeared in court for the first time on Friday afternoon.

Ahmed Basheer Awad, 20, of Westbrook. Photo courtesy South Portland police

Ahmed Basheer Awad, 20, of Westbrook, turned himself in to the Cumberland County Jail on Thursday after police obtained a warrant for his arrest. He faces charges of elevated aggravated assault, a Class A violation, and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.

He connected via Zoom to the Cumberland County Superior Courtroom, where the judge set his bail at $250,000 cash. He was not yet required to enter a plea.

Awad is accused of shooting another man inside the bathroom near the mall’s food court. The victim, who is in his 20s, was brought to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his upper right leg and is expected to survive, according to authorities.

The South Portland Police Department posted a photo on social media Wednesday of the suspect, who was captured on mall surveillance footage, and identified him after receiving anonymous tips and information from other police agencies.

He was arrested “without incident” the next day, according to a city spokesperson.

Awad was previously charged with carrying a concealed weapon in 2023, but the charge was later dropped, according to a criminal background check through the Maine Bureau of Investigation. He also was also convicted of violating conditions of release in 2023.

THE SHOOTING

Officers were alerted of the shooting around 3:40 p.m. Wednesday after gunshots rang out and people fled the food court. All South Portland officers and multiple law enforcement agencies secured all 15 exits to the mall, but not before the suspect left through the food court exit, said South Portland Police Chief Daniel Ahern.

The building broadcast an evacuation message for shoppers while mall employees locked their stores and sheltered in place with customers until police relieved them around 7:30 p.m., after several hours of a “slow, methodical” search for the suspect.

This was the first shooting inside the mall that Deputy Chief Kevin Gerrish could remember in his 23 years working for the city. Ahern said the shooting may prompt more training with mall staff.

Customers and employees returned to the Maine Mall Thursday, concerned but determined to return to work and their “home away from home,” as one shopper described.

This story will be updated.