I was in the Crabtree Valley Mall yesterday at 2:30

Aug 14, 2016, 8:18 PM

I was in the Crabtree Valley mall yesterday during the shooting and have had a couple of people ask if I am alright. I am. I have also seen several stories about what happened. I want to write this out because I've been thinking about it all day and actually had a few dreams about it last night, all of which resulted in me waking horrified. This is my account as best as I can remember.

I was looking at and playing a game on my phone, when I heard two or three pops thrang out where the food court was, close to my left. I looked up to try to figure out what exactly happened, when I felt the floor begin to shake in a similar manner to a minor earthquake.
I looked over the balcony and saw people running. At first, I thought there was some sort of sale going on and the store had just opened up. What I saw reflected the chaos that ensues when Black Friday sales open. After a moment, I begin to see people looking over their shoulders and picking up small children. I felt my blood run cold as it dawned on me this is serious.
My next thought was that of every piece of footage I've ever seen of the running of the bulls. Finally, my mind settled on a scene from a zombie movie, as I looked to my left and saw everyone pushing people toward the exits. Someone yelled, "He's got a gun!" I was there with a friend and she tells me my eyes were wide and she could see the dread in my face as I turned around and told her to run.
We ran outside as quickly as possible, heading straight for the car. This is when my friend tells me she lost her wallet and shoes inside. I try to go back to get the items after a few minutes of discussing what the best plan would be, but there is already a man there keeping people out and telling people to get away from the windows. Because he appeared to have some sort of badge but was not in any sort of uniform, I am guessing this man was an off duty police officer, government agent, or military personnel. If you are this man and are reading this, I would like to thank you for your quick thinking and taking control of an impossible situation.
I head back to the car and see another wave of fleeing people. This is the moment we decide getting her things is not worth it at the moment. We wound up leaving the parking lot and driving across the street as my friend tried calling the police department and mall to inform them her wallet is lost.

The whole scene is similar to a surrealist painting now, and I am already beginning to question what really happened. Memory is fickle at best and easily manipulated. I cannot say for sure that I actually heard the pops, or if it was the sound of people running, but the panicked stampedes were real and terrifying. My friend recovered her shoes but has had no luck with her wallet. I hope no one ever has to go through this, but I know it will happen again somewhere, and when it does, I will be praying for those affected with a new found understanding of the situation.

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I was in the Crabtree Valley Mall yesterday at 2:30

Re: I was in the Crabtree Valley Mall yesterday at 2:30

I felt better yesterday, but I'm taking today off work

crazy scene yesterday

Re: I was in the Crabtree Valley Mall yesterday at 2:30

She went there. Her shoes were returned but not her wallet.

Just heard from my friend that she got her wallet back

I was driving back home to Va from dirty myrtle

Got CCW?***

Glad your talking.. i would highly encourage you

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