Chaos at Westfield Southcenter: a day at the movies or a day of tragedy?

On the evening of Saturday, February 17^th, my family and I gave in to the hype of the newly released Black Panther and decided to see it at the AMC Theater inside the Westfield Southcenter Mall. We arrived at around 6:00 PM, only to discover the 6:45 and 7:45 showings were both sold out. Determined to see the movie, we decided to wait it out at the mall until the 8:45 showing. After killing time walking around and waiting in line, we finally got in and settled into our seats at the top row of the theatre.

A few minutes later, people in the seats below us suddenly began jumping to their feet and rushing towards the emergency exit to our right. I looked towards my family, confusion as evident on their faces as it was on mine, but stood up as my mother ushered us towards the stream of people congregating at the stairs.

The conversations were inaudible, but I could pick up phrases like “shooting” and “gun”. It felt like my body was on autopilot. I was numb, my hands and legs trembling. It’s one of those “I can’t believe this is happening to me” type of situations where it feels ripped straight out from a movie scene—or a breaking news headline.

I repeatedly glanced over my shoulder to ensure my family was right behind me. My mother kept calling out to my sister and I, telling us if anything happened, to stay down low behind the seats.

I caught snippets of conversation from people below us who were talking about someone with a gun somewhere in the theatre. Others were saying they heard gunshots coming from the mall. As we squished ourselves against strangers, desperately trying to escape, it was impossible to not think about the movie theatre shooting that occurred in 2012 in Aurora, Colorado during a showing of The Dark Knight Rises.

Eventually, the frantic exit dissipated and people stopped pushing against one another in an attempt to leave the theatre. People began saying it was a false alarm or a prank.

Being at the very top of the theater, we couldn’t hear what was really going on very well, in addition to the fact that the movie previews were still being played at full volume.

Slowly and hesitantly, we followed the majority of the moviegoers who eventually began returning to their seats.

An argument broke out near the door, where people were being accused of making the whole situation up to scare the people in the theater. Another person announced that we could not leave using the emergency exit because that was the direction the gunmen were in. After a few minutes of confusion and frustration, two employees from the movie theatre walked in and explained how it was all a false alarm and that everyone was safe. What had happened was just a physical altercation that occurred in the lobby of the theater. The employees informed us all that the movie would still be playing as normal.

Saturday evening trip to Southcenter Mall in #Tukwila turns to panic when shoppers fear an active shooter is inside. No shots were fired. We fled through a back hallway with terrified, crying people. This speaks volumes about the fear in America right now. pic.twitter.com/YAJ27POahC

— Dave Wagner (@DaveWagnerTV) February 18, 2018

As we exited the theatre after the movie had ended, I checked my phone to see it blown up with calls, texts, and snapchats from friends who knew I was at the mall, asking if I was okay. I never imagined that I would be in a similar situation that I often see in the news: friends and family frantically texting and calling their loved ones who were survivors of shootings. I realized I had experienced just a tiny fraction of the terror those moviegoers experienced in Aurora in 2012.

Maybe it was the fact I had just gotten out from a superhero movie featuring some pretty intense fight scenes, but as we walked past strangers and parked cars on the way to our car, my mind drifted to thoughts of, “Do they have a gun? Am I going to be shot?”

The timing of the whole ordeal seemed alarmingly coincidental. Just the day before, I sat in my second period class seeing news updates flood in about reported gunshots on the Highline College campus. One classmate was even texting a friend who was in the lockdown. Two days before, 17 people, many at or around my age, were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, Florida.

The normality of events such as these are a chilling reminder of the very real dangers we face today, and when faced with a situation resembling those in the news, our minds immediately go to worst case scenarios.

It is truly distressing to know that this is the world we live in today, where innocent citizens live fearful of events outside of their control.

Photo: @kingco_radio on Twitter