I walked around, visited Godiva and Wockenfuss taking time to smell the chocolate. Bought a charm or two at Pandora, smiled at all I met, ran into a few friends and chatted, and signed the condolence book for the families of the lives lost there on Saturday. A few stores are not yet opened; it was not crowded. Some took photos of the notices of condolence on the boarded-up Zumiez Skatestore, where the shootings occurred. There is a heavy police presence and a strong sense of sadness.
It seems the Mall personnel had been schooled in the potentiality of this happening. As soon as shots were heard some customers chose to run, but store personnel grabbed as many Mall patrons as possible, directed them to storage spaces at the backs of the stores, and pulled down security gates. Some children were separated from their parents and other adults comforted them. Personnel like those at the Disney Store and Cartoon Cuts actually involved the children in games: playing bubbles and watching videos as they "sheltered in place" and waited for police to secure this very large mall and come and get them. It took police and SWAT teams about four hours to totally secure the Mall. They exited shoppers and workers store by store, telling the adults to cover the eyes of the children as they passed by Zumiez.
An author of an article about the shooting said, "How the shooting will define the city itself, known for its affluence and its founding in the 1960s by developer James Rouse as a planned suburban community infused with neighborly values, has yet to be determined."
Columbia is a place that defines itself by the kindness and tolerance of its residents, not by a single incident that came from without, not within our community. This is the same integrated community that allowed George Wallace to speak to its then 300 residents with the stated understanding that he was being allowed to speak because of the tolerance of this then nascent town. This is the same community in which children can grow up color-blind and where all religions and backgrounds are celebrated. This heinous act will not define us; not now; not ever.
It seems the Mall personnel had been schooled in the potentiality of this happening. As soon as shots were heard some customers chose to run, but store personnel grabbed as many Mall patrons as possible, directed them to storage spaces at the backs of the stores, and pulled down security gates. Some children were separated from their parents and other adults comforted them. Personnel like those at the Disney Store and Cartoon Cuts actually involved the children in games: playing bubbles and watching videos as they "sheltered in place" and waited for police to secure this very large mall and come and get them. It took police and SWAT teams about four hours to totally secure the Mall. They exited shoppers and workers store by store, telling the adults to cover the eyes of the children as they passed by Zumiez.
An author of an article about the shooting said, "How the shooting will define the city itself, known for its affluence and its founding in the 1960s by developer James Rouse as a planned suburban community infused with neighborly values, has yet to be determined."
Columbia is a place that defines itself by the kindness and tolerance of its residents, not by a single incident that came from without, not within our community. This is the same integrated community that allowed George Wallace to speak to its then 300 residents with the stated understanding that he was being allowed to speak because of the tolerance of this then nascent town. This is the same community in which children can grow up color-blind and where all religions and backgrounds are celebrated. This heinous act will not define us; not now; not ever.
