The authorities closed the mall in one of Washington’s most populous suburb, located just off Ring Road and Chain Bridge. It is scheduled to open on Sunday.
Officers armed to the teeth went. store to store reach people who protected in place and to ensure involved in there were no more scandals. There were no arrests made and police said detectives looked at videos from hundreds of of different angles and conversations with many witnesses.
“These shots rang out inside place it’s as secure as Tyson Corner, it does everything of our hearts drop into the pit of our stomachs,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said on news conference. “That’s what’s shocking us all.”
Deputy Chief Executive Brian Reilly said it was like fight broken out between group of people on a second footpath around 14:45 and one human took out firearm and fired from it. Earlier, the police said that the shooting occurred near Macy’s. store.
Reilly declined to tell how many shots were fired, but it was confirmed that there were several rounds. He said that several shell casings were found. Fairfax County Police are always assigned to the mall and arrive quickly. of in fight as more the officers poured in from area. Reilly said, fight two groups participated of at least three people each.
In an attempt to calm fears of mall visitors and others, county police said. on Twitter soon after the incident that there were no reports of en active shooter. But recently deadly attacks on grocery store in Buffalo and elementary school in Uvalde, Texas people on edge.
Felissimo Gannon, 22, alive in Warrington, Virginia, and was in Shopping in Nordström for clothes with his mother as well as brother when he said “everyone ran”. He said they heard gunshots, maybe, but not sure.
He said something people ran into a nearby garage while he and his family ran to the locker room to hide. About a dozen others people did the same. They are found an emergency exit that led to a stairwell and a door.
There, according to Fellissimo, they stopped, not knowing if it was safer inside or out. That’s when they heard the blows. He now believes that it was most likely not gunshots, but at the time it made decision: run out Door.
Outside they found “tons of people leaving,” he said, and they crossed street as well as “made our way further and further away from the shopping center. Later he tweeted video of them escape.
A week earlier, Fellissimo had been to the March for Rally “Our Life” in area when a man shouted something that some took how gun the threat, leading to small stampede before order restored. there were no firearms found.
“It was kind of crazy seeing this wave of people againFellissimo said. who studies political science at Virginia Tech, where a gunman killed 32 people in 2007. “I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this is happening. again.’”
Matt McNair, 43, was in locker room at The Gap as employees rush him and others into the stores back office where they stayed for about 90 minutes.
“In the past I would have thought it was false anxiety,” McNair said. “Now, after everything that happened, I immediately thought that this active shooter and went into save mode.
Gloria Johnson, 73, was shopping at Macy’s when she heard people scream and run for the door. She and the others went to the locker room and she called her son with frightening news.
group remained hidden for nearly half- hour, refraining from talking and using hand gestures update each other on news coming in on their phones. She kept in touch with her son over sms before the guard came in and directed them to the parking lot.
“There was chaos everywhere,” Johnson said, noting police and helicopters. By that time her son and his brother reached the mall and they met up. On the way home they reflected on moment.
“You never know now that you go out Door how it will end up” Johnson said. “There are so many gun violence. I thought of nothing but to go out and enjoy this beautiful day.
Justin Jouvenal contributed to this report.
