Several days after a gunman killed eight people in a Nebraska mall, local shopping centers expressed confidence in their own existing security precautions.
Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc. manages Westroads Mall in Omaha, Neb., where Robert Hawkins, 19, killed eight people and then himself on Wednesday. In Maryland, the company manages White Marsh Mall, Harborplace and The Gallery, The Mall in Columbia, Laurel Commons, The Village of Cross Keys, Mondawmin Mall, Owings Mills Mall, and Towson Town Center, among its 200 shopping centers in 44 states.
Each of the malls has a specialized security plan according to Lisa Bisenius, group vice-president for General Growth Properties? Maryland holdings. Bisenius in a statement declined to provide specifics of the plans, or whether the Nebraska incident had caused the company to change those plans.
“We increased the public safety patrols prior to the start of the holiday shopping season due to the large number of shoppers, and we have a great relationship with our police department,” Bisenius said in a statement. “[Shoppers?] safety and well-being are our top concerns, not just when tragedies like this occur.”
Carmel Gambacorta, spokeswoman for Harborplace and The Gallery, said security outside the shopping centers is provided by the Baltimore Waterfront Partnership and Downtown Partnership, respectively, while interior security is handled by IPC International Corp., based outside Chicago.
Creating airport-level security at malls appears unlikely, according to Jon Lusher, a former Baltimore police officer and principal consultant for IPC,which provides security consulting and services for more than 400 shopping centers across the country.
“I don’t think we’re headed that way. People realize this kind of event is extraordinary and just doesn’t happen very often,” he said. “These are really isolated incidents caused by an individual who is clearly disturbed and unbalanced.”
Surveys have shown shoppers would accept extra security if a national security warning were issued, but not just for an individual mall or incident, according to Malachy Kavanagh, spokesman for New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers.
“It’s a balancing act for shopping centers. You have to provide a secure environment, but you have to allow people to travel freely,” Kavanagh said. “Most people shop at malls within 15 miles of their home and about three or four times a month. They feel comfortable and safe there.”
