Uber_Olafsun
Regular Member
OK so today the wife and I go to the mall because our 3 year old seems to grow a show size a month. When are at Tysons Corner Mall in VA and all of a sudden we heard a noise. It sounds like a herd of cattle coming through. We are in one of the anchor department stores and a couple hundred people come running through. Everyone is asking what happened and some people just start to say gun, shooting, police.
Well from from what I have found reported a shoplifter got tackled by police and slammed into a trashcan. This evidently made a loud enough noise to cause someone to think a firearm went off. The telephone game started and next thing you know everyone is running for the doors. Now I am wife my wife our three year old and our 15 month old in a stroller. My first reaction is to make for the door but first I m trying to make sure people are getting out of it and not jamming it. I am also looking for any other possible exits (think of the airline safety announcements, the closet exit may be behind you).
What amazed me was how many people stopped by the door or just outside. I am thinking if someone has a gun and intent on shooting get the hell out of the open. We get to the parking lot and are getting behind concrete and cars but some are just looking inside. Some people that saw the mass run outside that just got to the mall just walked into the store. I was telling people what I heard and they don't want to go in yet but others didn't say squat. Really if there is a possible life or death event going on you are going to say anything to someone else?!?!
Well the all clear comes out and we hear from security what happened so everyone goes back in. Lucky for us because our 3 year old was trying on shoes and when my wife grabbed him he was barefoot and we got to get his back. A funny moment came while we were buying when a sales member came up to another and said the lady that had tried on a pair was on her way back. Evidently she took off out of the mall and got in her car to drive away. Can't blame her. If our car was there we would have been gone too.
Well from from what I have found reported a shoplifter got tackled by police and slammed into a trashcan. This evidently made a loud enough noise to cause someone to think a firearm went off. The telephone game started and next thing you know everyone is running for the doors. Now I am wife my wife our three year old and our 15 month old in a stroller. My first reaction is to make for the door but first I m trying to make sure people are getting out of it and not jamming it. I am also looking for any other possible exits (think of the airline safety announcements, the closet exit may be behind you).
What amazed me was how many people stopped by the door or just outside. I am thinking if someone has a gun and intent on shooting get the hell out of the open. We get to the parking lot and are getting behind concrete and cars but some are just looking inside. Some people that saw the mass run outside that just got to the mall just walked into the store. I was telling people what I heard and they don't want to go in yet but others didn't say squat. Really if there is a possible life or death event going on you are going to say anything to someone else?!?!
Well the all clear comes out and we hear from security what happened so everyone goes back in. Lucky for us because our 3 year old was trying on shoes and when my wife grabbed him he was barefoot and we got to get his back. A funny moment came while we were buying when a sales member came up to another and said the lady that had tried on a pair was on her way back. Evidently she took off out of the mall and got in her car to drive away. Can't blame her. If our car was there we would have been gone too.