I'm seeing many articles around the US where the media is contacting their local malls for responses on how well prepared they are for a situation like what happened at the Westroads Mall.
From the montgomeryadvertiser.com (Montgomery, Alabama)
Mall has security plan
By Kenneth Mullinax
[email protected]
Montgomery's Eastdale Mall has one level, Westroads Mall in Omaha, Neb., has three. So this makes a difference? Both, though, are enclosed and have roughly a million square feet of space. Both have four department stores. And both were packed with holiday shoppers Wednesday.
It was a typical day at the mall in Montgomery. It was a day of tragedy at the Omaha mall. A 20-year-old man opened fire, killing eight people and wounding five before taking his own life.
Eastdale works with specially trained private security forces and local authorities to ensure "a safe and comfortable shopping environment," said marketing director Anna Tadlock. They do something different than the Westroads Mall?
The mall has a contract with ERMC, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based security firm that operates in 36 states.
"ERMC has officers who patrol our mall," she said, "and we also have uniformed Montgomery police officers at our mall on a daily basis."
Tadlock refused to disclose Eastdale's security plan but did say mall officials conduct safety drills on a routine basis. Don't most malls?
"We train for weather emergencies or any other safety issue that may come up," she said.
Eastdale has 85 retail stores and more than 8 million shoppers annually; Westroads has 135 shops and 14.5 million customers each year, according to General Growth Properties, the mall's owner.
"In the 30 years we've been in operation, Eastdale has never had any major incident occur here," Tadlock said. So this means it won't happen here?
The Montgomery Police Department has a team of officers trained to handle shootings in public places, according to Capt. Huey Thornton, a police spokesman. "We normally assign these officers, trained for active shooting situations, to school security details," Thornton said. "But we could use them at a moment's notice to respond to a problem at any of our malls." So does Omaha.
The SWAT team with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office has plans on how to handle attacks in malls, schools and public buildings. Sheriff D.T. Marshall, however, refused to disclose the plans.
Right now, Marshall said, the department is teaching SWAT team members as well as deputies to go inside a building immediately to stop the gunman rather than negotiate with him.
"We don't believe in waiting anymore because that can cost lives," he said.
Prattville doesn't have any malls, but the city's police department is still ready to respond to any shooting in a public place with its 10-member special operations team.
The city has added two fire paramedics to the team so anyone injured can get first aid immediately, said police Chief Alfred Wadsworth.
Officers keep their skills sharp with training drills and target practice throughout the year, but Wadsworth pointed out that no amount of training can stop an angry or unbalanced person with a weapon.
"You can't ever plan for what a nut is going to do like what happened in Omaha," Wadsworth said. "But you can look at what's happened and train your officers to be as best prepared as possible."
Hope their responses to the media do not come back to bite them. Anyone know if their mall security officers are armed?
From the ERMC webiste:
'The ERMC menu of services include security and patrol services, facility maintenance, janitorial and housekeeping, parking lot services, landscaping, construction and construction clean up, a variety of customer service functions, and facilities business management consulting services. All served up with a selection of the general sub-disciplines as well as maintenance on specialized facilities and systems.'
From the montgomeryadvertiser.com (Montgomery, Alabama)
Mall has security plan
By Kenneth Mullinax
[email protected]
Montgomery's Eastdale Mall has one level, Westroads Mall in Omaha, Neb., has three. So this makes a difference? Both, though, are enclosed and have roughly a million square feet of space. Both have four department stores. And both were packed with holiday shoppers Wednesday.
It was a typical day at the mall in Montgomery. It was a day of tragedy at the Omaha mall. A 20-year-old man opened fire, killing eight people and wounding five before taking his own life.
Eastdale works with specially trained private security forces and local authorities to ensure "a safe and comfortable shopping environment," said marketing director Anna Tadlock. They do something different than the Westroads Mall?
The mall has a contract with ERMC, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based security firm that operates in 36 states.
"ERMC has officers who patrol our mall," she said, "and we also have uniformed Montgomery police officers at our mall on a daily basis."
Tadlock refused to disclose Eastdale's security plan but did say mall officials conduct safety drills on a routine basis. Don't most malls?
"We train for weather emergencies or any other safety issue that may come up," she said.
Eastdale has 85 retail stores and more than 8 million shoppers annually; Westroads has 135 shops and 14.5 million customers each year, according to General Growth Properties, the mall's owner.
"In the 30 years we've been in operation, Eastdale has never had any major incident occur here," Tadlock said. So this means it won't happen here?
The Montgomery Police Department has a team of officers trained to handle shootings in public places, according to Capt. Huey Thornton, a police spokesman. "We normally assign these officers, trained for active shooting situations, to school security details," Thornton said. "But we could use them at a moment's notice to respond to a problem at any of our malls." So does Omaha.
The SWAT team with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office has plans on how to handle attacks in malls, schools and public buildings. Sheriff D.T. Marshall, however, refused to disclose the plans.
Right now, Marshall said, the department is teaching SWAT team members as well as deputies to go inside a building immediately to stop the gunman rather than negotiate with him.
"We don't believe in waiting anymore because that can cost lives," he said.
Prattville doesn't have any malls, but the city's police department is still ready to respond to any shooting in a public place with its 10-member special operations team.
The city has added two fire paramedics to the team so anyone injured can get first aid immediately, said police Chief Alfred Wadsworth.
Officers keep their skills sharp with training drills and target practice throughout the year, but Wadsworth pointed out that no amount of training can stop an angry or unbalanced person with a weapon.
"You can't ever plan for what a nut is going to do like what happened in Omaha," Wadsworth said. "But you can look at what's happened and train your officers to be as best prepared as possible."
Hope their responses to the media do not come back to bite them. Anyone know if their mall security officers are armed?
From the ERMC webiste:
'The ERMC menu of services include security and patrol services, facility maintenance, janitorial and housekeeping, parking lot services, landscaping, construction and construction clean up, a variety of customer service functions, and facilities business management consulting services. All served up with a selection of the general sub-disciplines as well as maintenance on specialized facilities and systems.'
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