mall mayhem
Terrified shopper: ‘I’ve never been so scared’ SOUTH SHORE PLAZA LOCKED DOWN AFTER GANGBANGER OPENS FIRE
Panicked shoppers were sent scrambling for their lives last night when a gang member opened fire inside the packed South Shore Plaza, prompting authorities to lock down the sprawling mall while dozens of heavily armed cops scoured stores and escorted terrified customers who were sheltering in place, officials say.
Iris Busch of Randolph said she was at Sears shopping for a dress when the sound of gunfire erupted at about 6:50 p.m. and sent customers running for cover.
“It was scary because you don’t know what to do when you’ve got someone saying, ‘ get down, get down,’” Busch told the Herald, adding that workers were rushing through the mall, telling scared shoppers to “get down and shots were being fired.”
Dozens of police vehicles surrounded the crowded Braintree shopping center and helicopters circled overhead as authorities searched the area for a Boston gang-affiliated gunman they say pulled out a handgun inside the Macy’s shoe department and started shooting during an altercation with a rival gangbanger.
A woman who was browsing in Lord & Taylor when the shooting occurred said she heard someone enter the store and say, “hands up!”
“We all flew into where they keep shoes. We were all just hiding and huddling,” the woman said.
“There was this poor woman and she had her little daughter. She was kicking over shoe boxes and throwing them on the floor trying to hide her daughter,” the woman said. “It was just the most scary thing — I’ve never been so scared.”
No one was hit during the barrage, police say, and investigators later found a handgun in the bushes outside.
“This was a happenstance occurrence where people from Boston gang affiliates bumped into each other here in Braintree and, due to tensions, it escalated into a shooting,” Braintree police Chief Paul J. Shastany told reporters at the scene.
“The shooting occurred in the Macy’s store in the shoe department. We found at that area some shell casings,” Shastany said, adding that authorities were reviewing surveillance camera footage and “other media” as part of the investigation.
Shastany said it was “remarkable” that no one was injured in the brazen shooting and only one of the people involved fired a gun.
Paul Matthews of Dedham was buying a pocketbook when he heard a single shot ring out.
“They started forcing us out as fast as possible,” said Matthews, who joined hundreds of other horrified shoppers in a desperate sprint for the exits.
Many shoppers who didn’t immediately run out huddled for safety in the mall’s 200-plus businesses as Braintree cops and SWAT teams with canine units combed the building “room by room, store to store” for the gunman.
Shortly after the mall was evacuated, Braintree Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan said city officials “will not accept the type of incident that took place tonight.”
Shastany said investigators had a description of the shooter and were working with Boston police.
“We are pretty sure we will resolve this,” Shastany said, adding that anyone with information that could help with the investigation should call Braintree police.