Shopping in fear
After a pair of mass shootings, worries of another attack loom over tax-free weekend.
Houston area shoppers said a “constant fear” of an active shooter overshadowed the satisfaction of saving a few dollars during the typically busy back-toschool, tax-free shopping weekend. Some felt paranoid by unexpected noises, while others admitted to taking time to identify hiding spots in stores or leaving their children home as they attempted to prepare for the start of school.
Just a week after a mass shooter in El Paso killed 22 shoppers, Texas’ tax-free weekend was less crowded than usual, some customers said. Shoppers who decided to venture out said the recent shootings gave them pause.
This is the 20th year for the three-day back to school tax-free holiday. According to Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, Texans have saved more than $1.3 billion in local and states taxes since 1999.
Pam Parker, who was shopping at the Meyerland Kohl’s on West Bellfort, said the crowds were much less hectic than she expected. Her cousin warned her it would be packed due to the tax-free weekend, so she was bracing herself. But instead, their family found space to spread out in the boy’s clothing section.
“I’m shocked,” she said. “I expected it to be a lot more crowded than this.”
Parker said she didn’t think about the shootings Saturday morning as she gathered her daughter and grandsons to go shopping for back-to-school clothes, but the events had been weighing on her mind all week. While traveling in Austin, she found herself paranoid near the Capitol building since, to her, places of significance now feel a bit like a target.
“I got freaked, but then I realized that you can’t live your life that way, in constant fear,” Parker said. “It’s scary when you hear noises and stuff you don’t expect.”
Some said they thought the lack of crowds Saturday could be due to the recent events in El Paso and the shooting that followed just hours later in Dayton, Ohio.
Raul Zammarron and Yesni Portillo, on their seventh back-to-school shop
“I got freaked, but then I realized that you can’t live your life that way, in constant fear.” Pam Parker, who was shopping in Meyerland
ping trip this weekend for their three children, said that they chose to leave two of their children at home because they were worried about the threat. But their 3-year-old daughter, Elizabella Zammarron, insisted that she go with them, so they finally agreed.
“We did think about (the shootings) because it can happen anywhere,” said Portillo. “All of the kids wanted to come but we decided to keep the kids home because it was going to be crowded and you never know.”
Raul Zammarron said he has seen heightened security at malls in the week after the shooting, but less so in shopping centers such as this Kohl’s, where their family was shopping for school shirts and uniforms.
“It’s sad because with the two shootings around the same time, it just makes you think, and expect the unexpected,” he said. “It’s like you’re looking for somewhere you can hide.”
More security
The Houston Police Department said it directed more patrol officers to busy shopping centers this weekend.
Charles Levier, a security guard assigned to Walmart for Brosnan Security, said his company increased personnel resources this weekend due to both the crowds and the heightened threat of violence following the recent shootings in El Paso and Dayton. The Walmart on Silber Road off Interstate 10 had increased police presence this weekend, he said.
Security guards were given instructions to be on high alert, he said. Everyone is paranoid: He said his family was worried about him working right after the shootings, and customers also expressed concern; some said to be extra vigilant, and other customers told him he should be armed.
“I tell them I don’t like guns,” he said. “A lot of people told me to be careful.”
Still raking in savings
Despite the fear, customers out shopping this weekend raked in the savings nonetheless. Parents with young children tore through the back-to-school displays at Walmart, picking up discounted school supplies, and grandparents chipped in with gifts. Several families said they spent less than they expected to — most had a budget of about $500 for back-toschool shopping, and were able to spend below that.
Dawn Spreeman, shopping at Walmart, said she was planning to spend $200 on back to school donations for Bruce Elementary School as part of her organization, the Houston Women’s International Network. She only spent $162.
“I thought I did pick out $200, but everything was cheaper than usual,” she said. “They also discounted a lot.”
Vincent T. Davis and Paul Takahashi contributed to this
report