The police received a message of shots at the Tysons at 2:49 p.m. and began sweeping the mall, Fairfax County Police second Lieutenant Jason Chandler said. As of around 15:40 the mall was clear and no threats were reported. The mall has never been locked down, Chandler said, but some stores closed.
Melanie Kantor of Fairfax County was in American Eagle store in Tysons with her family when the employees locked the doors and led everyone into the pantry. She reported that she was told that people was seen running in corridors, so “we put everyone back here.”
She estimated that about 50 people we in utility room of in store in State of lack of confidence in obtaining diversity of text messages and phone calls to tell what’s going on.
It was “a little scary”, she said, because “no one knew what was going on. onand there were many of bad information fly around.”
However, she said that “the staff really great”, and tried to calm everyone, although some of the staff seemed no older than teenagers.
“I think most people felt safe where we were,” she said.
Then she said that she and her family left mall right away.
Before the report of shots, Chandler said police responded to possible theft in shopping center near the glass elevator. BUT light fixture has fallenin in general area” of Police actions caused a loud sound, Chandler said, which officers believe caused panic in shopping center.
BUT video posted on Twitter showed the police leading a few people away from the mall in handcuffs after reports of shots were made. Chandler said no suspects were apprehended. in responded to messages but was not sure if individuals were detained in earlier answer to possible theft.
Other videos posted on social media show scores of shoppers flee the mall. The Tysons advertised a tax-free weekend with discounted clothing and school supplies, according to the mall website.
Shots were fired in mid-June. in The Tysons after the fight closing the mall and fomenting panic as shoppers ran or hid in stores. A boy was fatally shot at a Moechella concert in Northwest Washington on the same weekend and the week before three people were shot dead after an argument at the mall in Prince George County.
The incidents happened against the backdrop of a line of high-profile mass shootings across the country from Buffalo to Uvalde, Texas. In the footsteps of murders, some D.C. and Virginia residents told The Washington Post they became more sensitive to risk of gun violence or hesitation to return to crowded places.
Research in 2019 and 2018 held by the American Psychological Association and the Pew Research Center after high-profile mass shootings. found that all over the country news of gun Violence similarly exacerbated the fears and stress levels of the respondents.
It’s developing story was updated.
