Ex-NBA star Shawn Kemp fired a gun during a parking lot altercation prior to his felony arrest on Wednesday ... footage obtained by TMZ Sports shows.
53-year-old Kemp -- wearing a red vest -- approached a vehicle and pointed his firearm ... appearing to yell something before pulling the trigger at least once outside a Tacoma, Washington shopping mall around 2:00 PM.
Witnesses tell us they heard multiple gunshots before pulling their phones out to record the incident ... and claim they saw Kemp drive around the parking lot and ditched his gun in a bush before talking to police.