‘I was shaking so hard’: New details Augusta Mall gun scare
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Chaos ensued at Augusta Mall on Sunday afternoon after a gun incident near the food court.
Despite initial reports, but law enforcement tells us there were no gunshots.
But as the nation grapples with an outbreak of deadly mass shooting and several gunfire incidents at malls, the crowd’s reaction is understandable.
The deputy spoke with the security staff, who said there was no active shooter threat and no shots were fired.
A witness told the deputy she saw two groups of men enter Augusta Mall near the food court. She says the two groups got into a verbal altercation. One of the men lifted his shirt and openly displayed a gun, and someone in the food court shouted, “Gun!”
Multiple people inside the mall started running away from the area.
No one was hurt in the incident, but shoppers said it was still a scary experience.
“I was shaking so hard, I was trying not to cry. My daughter was crying she wanted to go home,” Debbie Kitchen-Centeno said. “Everything kind of just stopped, almost like I froze. I didn’t hear anything and then all of a sudden, I saw people in the hallway or outside of the store, running, and then I saw people in-store running.”
One shopper who didn’t want to go on camera said her family was at the food court when people started to run. They knew they had to protect their daughter at all costs.
“Whether it was a false alarm or what, we weren’t about to stick around and find out,” said the shopper. “Our fight-or-flight kicked in and we just knew we had to get our 4-year-old out of there.”
While some ran, others, like Kitchen-Centeno hid in the stock rooms of stores.
“The employees shut the gate, blocked the entrance with the racks, and they stood back there and all we can do is wait,” she said.
In that waiting came nerves, and even texting loved ones for comfort.
“After I spoke to my husband and made sure he was OK, I called my mom and I said, “Mommy ... I love you guys. There’s a shooter in the mall,” Kitchen-Centeno said.
She worries something like this is becoming too common.
“There have been way too many people that have been shot and killed just simply going to do basic daily things,” she said.
News 12 has reported multiple incidents involving guns at Augusta Mall over the past 6 years, and Kitchen-Centeno hopes this one leads to change.
“I know it can happen anywhere, but I think there’s something that has to be done,” she said. And she says she is thankful she and her family, and those around her are safe.
The sheriff’s office said the incident at the Augusta Mall is at the center of an ongoing investigation.
Copyright 2022 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
