Four people were injured during a shooting in the food court of Eastridge Mall
Gastonia NC June 11th 2022
Four people were injured during a shooting in the food court of Eastridge Mall in Gastonia on Friday afternoon, police said.
Two people are being questioned, Gastonia Police Chief Travis Brittain told reporters during a news conference outside the mall.
There is no longer an active threat at the mall, police said.
The shooting was reported around 12:10 p.m., and lockdown procedures were followed, including an evacuation of the mall, police said.
In some cases, shoppers and workers took action to shelter in place; others immediately exited the mall.
Breanna Webb, who works for a shoe store inside the mall, said she saw two men with black plastic masks enter the food court as she headed to her car. “I thought it was a bit weird, and it caught me off guard,” Webb told The Charlotte Observer. “I didn’t really know what to think.”
Minutes later, police officers “started coming in really fast,” she said. Then police told Webb to lock the store’s doors. Eventually, officers escorted her and customers out of the store with their hands up, she said.
A manager at a different store in the mall told the Observer they heard several “pops” while crossing the parking lot. The manager thought the sounds came from a carnival game at the mall. “It did not register in my head that it was gun shots,” said the manager, who asked that their name be withheld. The manager said when they realized what was happening, they directed store staff and customers to hide in the stockroom.
It took about 30 minutes until police escorted them out, the manager said.”
The Gaston County police and responding officers are all heroes,” the manager said. “They had a quick and swift response.”
