Shoppers who were inside of Polaris Fashion Place Monday evening are still in disbelief after shots were fired for the second time in two weeks, sending people running in all directions.
Now, the Columbus Division of Police and Polaris Fashion Place are working together to find a solution.
On Tuesday, there was an increased presence of Polaris Fashion Place security and Columbus police officers.
Columbus Police Sergeant James Fuqua said they plan to have an increased number of officers over the next couple of days at least and maybe even longer.
“Two weeks ago, we thought it was safe, obviously the incident occurred, did we ever think two weeks later we’d be back here? Absolutely not,” Fuqua said.
Fuqua said police met with officials from Polaris Fashion Place Tuesday afternoon to discuss strategies on how to prevent this from happening again.
Michelle Seiler was shopping with her mother and was getting ready to check out when she noticed an associate come up to the person who was checking her out. She said the other associate made a concerning face and both said everyone needed to get out of the store.
She said as she turned the corner, ready to walk outside, she saw many people running.
“I don’t think I’m going to go back anytime soon, but it’s not going to stop me. Eventually, I’m going to want to go to the mall, I want to be normal,” Seiler said.
Mindy Sarver was also at the mall when shots were fired. She was there with her daughters waiting in front of a store talking with an employee.
She said they heard the gunshots, and at first, she was in disbelief that that’s what the sound could’ve been.
Sarver too found herself running alongside her daughters and other shoppers, eventually making it into a store where employees helped them hide.
She’s replaying the situation in her head and said she keeps asking herself, what if, knowing it could have gone a million different ways.
“I don’t know if I’ll go back to the mall, it was a lot,” Sarver said.
A spokesperson for the Washington Prime Group, owner of Polaris Fashion Place said,
“At Polaris Fashion Place the safety of our guests, retailers and employees is our top priority. According to local law enforcement officials, there have been no reported injuries as a result of the isolated incident that occurred today. Our team immediately implemented safety protocols and we continue to cooperate with all police procedures. Over the past two weeks, we have had extra security at Polaris Fashion Place and will continue to increase security presence and work with local law enforcement. We would like to thank our law enforcement agency partners for their quick response ensuring everyone’s safety: Columbus Police Department, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, the Genoa Township Police Department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Worthington Police Department. We continue to work with each of these agencies to cooperate with all of their procedures. Polaris Fashion Place will re-open for normal hours of operation on Tuesday, March 16. For more information, please contact the Columbus Police Department directly at (614) 645-4545.”