x
Breaking News
More () »

'I just prayed, and I knew we would be OK': Witnesses describe chaos at Franklin Park Mall after shooting injures two

Rudy Strong Sr. was shopping with his granddaughters at Bath & Body Works when someone told him they heard a gunshot, causing the mall to go into lockdown.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Two people were injured in a shooting at the Franklin Park Mall shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday evening. Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz told WTOL 11 that Toledo police's initial conclusion was that the shooting was accidental.

Rudy Strong Sr. was shopping with his granddaughters at Bath & Body Works when someone told him they heard a gunshot and the mall went into lockdown.

"I don't know what happened, this is crazy, this doesn't make sense," he said.

Strong says he was hiding in the back of the store with about 18 other people.

"They closed the gates and locked us in there and eventually we were going to the back and they were doing a head count," Strong said. "Being a preacher, I just prayed, and I knew we would be OK."

Adrienne Christy said she heard a gunshot from the mall food court, in front of the Express clothing store where she works.

"Thirty people went flying out our back door and some hid in the back where our warehouse area is," she said. "It was very scary."

Not only was Christy worried about her own safety, but also that of her younger co-workers.

"A bullet doesn't stop until it hits someone or hits something. It can hit anybody," she said.

Other shoppers and employees have shared safety concerns with WTOL 11 after past crime incidents at the mall, like when the windows at Dave & Busters were shattered by gunfire last month.

"I don't feel safe and I don't know if I want to keep working there," Christy said of the mall. "It was my fun job. To me, it's not fun when you don't know if you're going to walk out of here."

Before You Leave, Check This Out