Man shoots ex-girlfriend at Nordstroms cosmetics counter before killing himself on Black Friday

• Shooting took place in the upscale department store in Chicago
• Woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where she is in a critical condition
• The man was declared dead at the scene after crowded store was emptied
• Was reportedly a 'domestic-related' incident, police are investigating

By Wills Robinson for MailOnline

Published: 00:13 EST, 29 November 2014 | Updated: 00:52 EST, 29 November 2014

A man shot his ex-girlfriend in the cosmetics department of a Nordstrom in downtown Chicago before killing himself in an attempted murder-suicide.

Crowds in the upscale department store were sent into a panic as they heard gunshots on the second floor and hurried out of the building.

Hundreds of shoppers were inside at the the time for the Black Friday sales.

The woman who has not been identified was taken to the city's Northwestern Memorial Hospital while the man was declared dead at the scene.

Scene: A man shot his ex-girlfriend in the cosmetics section of a Nordstrom in Chicago before killing himself in an attempted murder-suicide

Corden: Chicago police secure the entrance to The Shops at North Bridge that leads to the Nordstrom store in downtown Chicago, where the two people were shot

Police have said it was a domestic-related incident and the woman was a seasonal employee at the store.

Michelle Smith, 47, was buying purses with her daughter Krystal, 25, when they heard two gunshots.

She told the Chicago Tribune: 'It was a pow and a pow. It was a stampede coming down the escalator.

Authorities reiterated that no one else was in harms way and that the suspect entered the store with the intent to hurt his ex-girlfriend. However they stressed that the store was an active crime scene.

Suzanne Nanos-Gusching was on the third floor with her daughter who was trying on a dress for a sorority formal at the University of Michigan when shots rang out.

'We just saw people running out and they (the employees) rushed her to get dress,' he told the paper. 'They were adamant about getting us out of the building.'

Janis Tillman who was in the store at the time told NBC Chicago:

'I was right around the corner when an eyewitness came out. I said, 'What happened?' She said, 'I saw somebody.. I saw the guy pull out a gun, shot her, and then he then shot himself.' She was shaken. Very shaken.'

Panic: The store was filled with customers at the time during the Black Market sales. Shoppers ran to all exits of the building when they heard the shots ring out

Deadly: The woman, who is a seasonal employee at the store, is in a critical condition fighting for her life. The man was pronounced dead at the scene