Columbia Mall shooting
I wanted to get down my experience of the Columbia Mall shooting yesterday. Here goes.
After Elyse's dance class was over in the morning, we drove to David's Natural Market for drinks, snacks and a few groceries, We had originally planned to go down to Old Ellicott City for lunch and to pick up our comic books. But it was 21 degrees and a bit windy and I just didn't feel like walking around in the cold. I'm sure many others felt the same way yesterday. So, I decided to go to the mall to let Elyse play at the playground, ride the carousel, and then we'd get lunch and just hang out. You know, go to Sephora, get my eyebrows threaded. This is a very common thing for us to do. I called my mom before we went over and suggested she come meet up with us.
We walked in through the food court, just below where the shooting would happen 20 minutes later and where some shots were fired from the upper level. We settled in at the playground, which is right in front of JC Penneys. Elyse immediately made friends with a boy about her age and was happily running around. My mom got there after about 10 minutes and sat down. Elyse ran over to say hi and then kept playing right in front of us. Thank goodness she was not far away.
All of a sudden, everyone was moving. I don't know how else to describe it. It was surreal. Everyone was running and ducking. I didn't know what was happening. I scooped up our stuff and grabbed for Elyse. I heard gunshots. I thought I heard someone say bomb, which might have just been in my head. But it made me freak for a second, because with gunshots I knew I needed to get under cover right away and with a bomb I would try to run for the exit instead. All the parents were running to the H&M store right next to the playground. I picked Elyse up, pinning her to my side, and ran. I thought my mother was behind me.
I heard several gunshots. We ran into the back of the store and into a bathroom, where another mother and her young son ran. We closed and locked the door. Thank goodness they were with us, because Elyse was able to play with him and share food together. We were locked in for an hour. For the first 15 minutes, I was worried that I didn't make the right decision about where to go. Initially, we didn't know how many shooters there were and what the situation was. Honestly, I worried that it could be an Adam Lanza situation where the shooter goes looking for people to kill.
Gradually, I calmed down. And the other mother was very good at dealing with the situation, which helped me a great deal. I called 911 and was on hold for 5 minutes. The operator said to stay in place. I started checking Twitter for news and learned that the incident was likely over. I called my mom, who had fallen down in the playground area and then ran in to Penney's and then out of the mall. I saw that a reporter I've worked with at the Baltimore Sun retweeted a post about it. I emailed him and told him that I was in the bathroom. I ended up talking to him later in the afternoon.
Honestly, the bathroom got a little boring and then I worried about how long we'd be in there. Little kids get antsy, you know. After an hour, we ventured out and learned that most of the parents and little kids from the playground were in the big break area at the back of the store. Lots of people hiding out in the recesses of the mall. Just weird. We stayed in that area for another half hour or so. I have to give a shout out to the gracious H&M employees, who also quickly locked down the store when it first happened with the metal grate.
Finally, we got word that police were at the front of the store to guide us out. They had us go out as quickly as possible, though I was able to grab Elyse's shoes from the playground. There were SWAT guys everywhere with big guns. That was the thing that freaked Elyse out. We walked through the food court, which was strewn with belongings. Drinks spilled all over the floor. Random shoes. Signs of the panic that had taken place.
As we got outside, I realized I didn't have Elyse's coat. I started running around the parking lot, frantically trying to find my car and couldn't remember where it was. Too much adrenaline, I guess. My mom saw me and we got in her car and drove around looking for my car. She had Elyse's coat, which she had tripped on and fell down as the shots were firing. Finally, we found my car. We had a big hug and said we loved each other. I calmed down a bit and drove home. I gave Adam a big, shaky hug. I can feel myself shaking again as I write this.
I am not afraid. I was in a fearful situation that demanded quick thinking and action. I was worried that we would be shot and determined to keep Elyse safe. It scares me that we could easily have gone to the carousel first, where the shooter walked through at one point. But what happened will not make me afraid of going back to the mall. Violence can and does happen anywhere. Sadly, there are many places in the world where it happens too often. My heart goes out even more for people who must experience such panic and fear not once, but repeatedly. I'm thinking about the families of the victims and of the shooter too. And about the terrified woman who ducked from shots he fired at her from upstairs down into the food court. May her vision of looking him in the eyes not haunt her forever.
I've gone to Columbia Mall for most of my life. I was a serious "Mall Rat" who got kicked out of the mall many times. I worked at at least 3 stores at the mall in my teens. I like it there. I still do. Columbia is a great, diverse, positive place. Not perfect. But it's my home. I want it to be safe. I want every place where people live and have family and friends to be safe. That's a dream, I know. But we'll never get there if we are controlled by anger and fear. I choose love.
After Elyse's dance class was over in the morning, we drove to David's Natural Market for drinks, snacks and a few groceries, We had originally planned to go down to Old Ellicott City for lunch and to pick up our comic books. But it was 21 degrees and a bit windy and I just didn't feel like walking around in the cold. I'm sure many others felt the same way yesterday. So, I decided to go to the mall to let Elyse play at the playground, ride the carousel, and then we'd get lunch and just hang out. You know, go to Sephora, get my eyebrows threaded. This is a very common thing for us to do. I called my mom before we went over and suggested she come meet up with us.
We walked in through the food court, just below where the shooting would happen 20 minutes later and where some shots were fired from the upper level. We settled in at the playground, which is right in front of JC Penneys. Elyse immediately made friends with a boy about her age and was happily running around. My mom got there after about 10 minutes and sat down. Elyse ran over to say hi and then kept playing right in front of us. Thank goodness she was not far away.
All of a sudden, everyone was moving. I don't know how else to describe it. It was surreal. Everyone was running and ducking. I didn't know what was happening. I scooped up our stuff and grabbed for Elyse. I heard gunshots. I thought I heard someone say bomb, which might have just been in my head. But it made me freak for a second, because with gunshots I knew I needed to get under cover right away and with a bomb I would try to run for the exit instead. All the parents were running to the H&M store right next to the playground. I picked Elyse up, pinning her to my side, and ran. I thought my mother was behind me.
I heard several gunshots. We ran into the back of the store and into a bathroom, where another mother and her young son ran. We closed and locked the door. Thank goodness they were with us, because Elyse was able to play with him and share food together. We were locked in for an hour. For the first 15 minutes, I was worried that I didn't make the right decision about where to go. Initially, we didn't know how many shooters there were and what the situation was. Honestly, I worried that it could be an Adam Lanza situation where the shooter goes looking for people to kill.
Gradually, I calmed down. And the other mother was very good at dealing with the situation, which helped me a great deal. I called 911 and was on hold for 5 minutes. The operator said to stay in place. I started checking Twitter for news and learned that the incident was likely over. I called my mom, who had fallen down in the playground area and then ran in to Penney's and then out of the mall. I saw that a reporter I've worked with at the Baltimore Sun retweeted a post about it. I emailed him and told him that I was in the bathroom. I ended up talking to him later in the afternoon.
Honestly, the bathroom got a little boring and then I worried about how long we'd be in there. Little kids get antsy, you know. After an hour, we ventured out and learned that most of the parents and little kids from the playground were in the big break area at the back of the store. Lots of people hiding out in the recesses of the mall. Just weird. We stayed in that area for another half hour or so. I have to give a shout out to the gracious H&M employees, who also quickly locked down the store when it first happened with the metal grate.
Finally, we got word that police were at the front of the store to guide us out. They had us go out as quickly as possible, though I was able to grab Elyse's shoes from the playground. There were SWAT guys everywhere with big guns. That was the thing that freaked Elyse out. We walked through the food court, which was strewn with belongings. Drinks spilled all over the floor. Random shoes. Signs of the panic that had taken place.
As we got outside, I realized I didn't have Elyse's coat. I started running around the parking lot, frantically trying to find my car and couldn't remember where it was. Too much adrenaline, I guess. My mom saw me and we got in her car and drove around looking for my car. She had Elyse's coat, which she had tripped on and fell down as the shots were firing. Finally, we found my car. We had a big hug and said we loved each other. I calmed down a bit and drove home. I gave Adam a big, shaky hug. I can feel myself shaking again as I write this.
I am not afraid. I was in a fearful situation that demanded quick thinking and action. I was worried that we would be shot and determined to keep Elyse safe. It scares me that we could easily have gone to the carousel first, where the shooter walked through at one point. But what happened will not make me afraid of going back to the mall. Violence can and does happen anywhere. Sadly, there are many places in the world where it happens too often. My heart goes out even more for people who must experience such panic and fear not once, but repeatedly. I'm thinking about the families of the victims and of the shooter too. And about the terrified woman who ducked from shots he fired at her from upstairs down into the food court. May her vision of looking him in the eyes not haunt her forever.
I've gone to Columbia Mall for most of my life. I was a serious "Mall Rat" who got kicked out of the mall many times. I worked at at least 3 stores at the mall in my teens. I like it there. I still do. Columbia is a great, diverse, positive place. Not perfect. But it's my home. I want it to be safe. I want every place where people live and have family and friends to be safe. That's a dream, I know. But we'll never get there if we are controlled by anger and fear. I choose love.
exhausted