Mall Shooting Sparks Security Debate

Dec 11, 2007 3:25 PM

Following last week's shooting rampage at an Omaha, Neb., mall in which nine people were killed including the 19-year-old gunman, new questions about security measures are being raised at shopping centers.

According to CNN, there are 1,200 enclosed malls in the United States and about 50,000 shopping centers. Most of these malls don't have a lot of heavily armed, visible guards. Much of the work is done behind the scenes, reports ABC News.

WCPO News in Cincinnati asked Ed Bridgeman for answers. He is a security and terrorism expert who teaches at the University of Cincinnati Clermont campus. He contends that all malls should have reason for concern. "This sort of thing can happen, and happen here," Bridgeman says.

He says malls, like the one in Omaha, are normally picked for a reason. "It's a soft target, a prime target," he says. "Malls by their very nature are wide open, they are inviting, easy access."

USA Today reports that Charles Bahn, a forensic psychologist, says that such incidents are "lessons" for terrorists and deranged people. "They show that the mall is a place where you can make an impression, and where you can find multiple victims."

That's largely why U.S. security officials have been concerned -- particularly since the 9/11 attacks -- that malls could become the "soft targets" that Bridgeman suggests: places where large groups congregate and that are difficult to secure. Each year, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security send out holiday-season "awareness" bulletins about shopping mall security, according to USA Today.

Malls across the nation have heeded calls to boost security by hiring more guards and installing surveillance cameras, but they remain easily accessible areas of commerce -- in contrast to those in Israel, where metal detectors and car searches are used to prevent bombings and other violence.

Security analysts say that despite tragic incidents such as the Omaha shootings, malls -- like schools and college campuses -- remain quite safe. And they warn that trying to make them safer could threaten malls' future by making them less successful.

Metal detectors are anathema to malls and stores, which do everything they can to invite shoppers in. Going through a checkpoint at a mall -- leaving it to beep at shopper's belt buckles and loose change -- is enough to drive people to QVC, according to USA Today.

FBI Director Robert Mueller, though, told the publication that this incident and its future prevention won't stop shoppers. "We are an open and free country, and we don't want guards at every doorway," he says. "Trying to prevent an incident like this is exceptionally difficult."

David Keating, spokesman for General Growth Properties, the Omaha Mall's corporate owner in Chicago, says the company is reviewing security at its 200 malls. He says patrols are increased during the holiday season.

But the Kansas City Star quotes a security consultant saying it is almost impossible to prevent this kind of incident without turning shopping centers into armed camps.

"It's more than cost prohibitive -- it's cost impossible," says James Dallas, a Philadelphia area security consultant.

According to reports out of Omaha after the incident, security officers noticed the gunman acting strangely but saw no indication he was armed before the shooting started. As is typical in most American shopping centers, those officers were not armed.

The unarmed security jobs usually are low-paying and require little training or education, security experts say. "You kind of get what you pay for," Chris McGoey, a Los Angeles-based consultant, told the Kansas City Star.

General Growth Properties released a statement concerning the recent shootings. "[The] tragedy in Omaha, Neb., has been a horrific event for the entire community. Our number one priority has been to ensure the safety and well-being of the shoppers and employees of the mall. We are extremely grateful to all the law enforcement agencies for the leadership they have provided. Our deepest heartfelt sympathy and prayers go out to all the families of the victims."

CNN reports that the FBI and other federal agencies have reached out to private security firms to share information on best practices, and that the FBI also sends out alerts regarding possible threats to the private sector. But they say that warnings of possible terrorist plans are clearly of no help in anticipating an attacker like the 19-year-old Omaha gunman.

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