Records: How an attempted robbery led to fear of 'active shooter' at Evansville mall
EVANSVILLE — Newly unsealed court documents and other public records reveal how a chaotic Saturday night fight and alleged robbery at Eastland Mall left customers, employees and police scrambling to respond.
While the incident began at about 6:50 p.m., its impact lingered well into Saturday night and beyond, after what began as an alleged robbery and fight inside the mall morphed into widespread fear of a potential active shooter.
The Courier & Press reviewed 9-1-1 calls, recordings of police radio transmissions, incident reports and court records to gain a better understanding of what happened.
The records show how conflicting witness accounts, the presence of firearms and a general state of panic inside the mall complicated law enforcement's response.
Original Story: No shots fired, but 'active shooter' fear leads to pandemonium inside Evansville mall
“I’m at Eastland Mall; there’s a mass fight breaking out," one 9-1-1 caller told dispatchers Saturday evening. A different caller said, "There's a fight with a bunch of African American kids with guns."
At least one of the 9-1-1 calls the Courier & Press reviewed used the phrase "active shooter."
According to the FBI, “an active shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”
Evansville police ultimately determined no shots were fired at Eastland Mall and do not believe the incident stemmed from an attempted mass killing. Officers did locate a handgun and magazine on mall property, and two juveniles were taken into custody.
Braylin C.J. Underwood, 16, appeared in Vanderburgh County Superior Court on Tuesday. Prosecutors intend to formally charge Underwood as an adult.
Monday Update: Evansville teen charged as adult after Eastland Mall incident led to fear of shooter
The Evansville Police Department has not publicly identified the second juvenile. EPD spokeswoman Sgt. Taylor Merriss said Tuesday that the investigation was ongoing.
"Eastland mall security footage is still being reviewed," Merriss wrote in a news release. "Once the investigation is complete, future arrests may occur."
A 'huge fight' and fears of an 'active shooter'
The Courier & Press requested and obtained time-stamped logs from Evansville-Vanderburgh Central Dispatch that shed light on how law enforcement responded to the Eastland Mall incident.
The records, known as run cards, begin with an ominous, but brief, pronouncement: "ACTIVE SHOOTER EASTLAND MALL." The time was 6:53 p.m.
At approximately the same time, two EPD officers finishing routine paperwork from the Eastland Mall parking lot noticed "people running out of the mall yelling that 'shots were fired'," Merriss said.
It is unclear if the officers' observation is what led to the general report of an active shooter at Eastland Mall.
During the next several minutes, dispatchers and first responders relayed reports of "a huge fight," "weapons," and a suspect threatening to "blow this place out."
"My caller said a bunch of B/M's (Black males) fighting, and guns," a note from 6:54 p.m. reads. "Security heard about guns but didn't see any."
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Underwood's arrest affidavit elaborates on what these callers may have witnessed. According to EPD Detective Jonathan Helm, four victims came forward to say a group of up to six males clad in ski masks attacked and robbed them at Eastland Mall.
Police identified one of the suspects as Underwood, who they claim shares a gang affiliation with three unnamed suspects. During the altercation between the alleged attackers and the victims, an unknown individual stated they had been shot, according to Helm.
"This caused a mass exodus of patrons from [Eastland Mall]," Helm wrote.
The suspects, including Underwood, allegedly engaged responding officers in a foot chase. Helm said officers detained two suspects inside the mall, while two others fled West from the mall through JCPenny's — where at least one 9-1-1 caller made contact with dispatchers.
Police reportedly located Underwood and a second suspect in the mall parking lot. Underwood allegedly turned himself in to officers and was taken into custody. Beneath a nearby vehicle, Helm said investigators located a fully loaded 9mm handgun.
911 callers report hiding in bathrooms amid rumors of active shooter
Law enforcement quickly determined it was unlikely shots had been fired, but panic at the mall continued to fester as groups of customers and employees hid in backrooms and sought advice from 9-1-1 operators.
At 6:56 p.m., just three minutes after the initial active shooter alert, one officer radioed in to say, "No shots fired," according to dispatch logs. The officer later cited witnesses who again confirmed: "No shots actually fired."
But multiple 9-1-1 callers from inside the mall voiced fears of the incident spiraling into gun violence.
Caller: "There's something happening at Old Navy in the mall. Everybody ran to the back; we thought we heard shots."
Dispatch: "Okay, do you see anybody shooting?"
Caller: "No, we're all in the back."
The caller said a "ton" of people − "almost the whole store" − had sought cover in a backroom. Dispatchers remained on the line until an armed Illinois State Trooper arrived to secure the Old Navy and evacuate those inside.
Dispatch logs note the 9-1-1 call from Old Navy at 7:01 p.m.: "Thought they heard shots and everyone is hiding in the back of the store."
Other 9-1-1 calls noted the earlier fight and claimed to have heard about a shooting.
Caller: "There's, uh, something terribly going wrong at Eastland Mall. Someone said that people are shooting; there's a huge fight inside."
Dispatch: "You've not heard anything or seen anything?
Caller: "No, no."
The caller appeared to be unsure of where they were positioned in Eastland Mall and asked dispatchers for help.
"Listen to me," the dispatcher said calmly. "I want you to get to a safe space. I want you to go hide. Okay? I don't want you going outside."
A 9-1-1 caller who told dispatchers she was in JCPenney's claimed she was armed and needed officers to respond to "a group of blacks with guns."
“I am armed,” the caller stated before describing one of the suspects as wearing a bright red T-shirt with a printed photo on the back.
“I’m so sick of this s**t," she said.
Officers ultimately secured the building, but some eyewitnesses who emerged described earlier scenes of chaos as people heard reports of gunfire.
"We saw cops draw their guns and start running out the doors as well, and then there was just a bunch of yelling," Amelia Hollins, a Hopkins County High School senior, said. "I had to run into a bathroom."
Hollins, and her mother and father, described sheltering in place with at least 14 people.
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It took time for word to permeate the separated groups of people hiding in Eastland Mall that the threat of shooting had subsided.
According to run cards, law enforcement issued an order to lockdown Eastland Mall by at least 6:59 p.m. By 8:30 p.m., officers were working to clear the remaining groups of unevacuated people.
Investigators were able to review and obtain surveillance footage from multiple vantage points. Tuesday afternoon, Merriss said the department would refrain from releasing officers' body camera footage until "potential future arrests have been made."
'Active shooter' scare at Eastland comes just one week after Texas mall shooting killed eight
Scenes of shocked men, women and children being escorted to safety by heavily armed police are all too familiar for many Americans.
Just one week prior to the active-shooter scare in Evansville, a massacre at a mall in a Dallas suburb dominated news headlines.
Videos posted to social media showed customers at the Allen Premium Outlets mall running in search of cover and shelter. Police killed the gunman, Mauricio Garcia, 33, after Garcia allegedly shot and killed eight people, including children as young as 3 years old.
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It is within that context, and amidst the steady drumbeat of public shootings in the United States, that Evansville police and civilians responded to the initial report of an active shooter at Eastland Mall.
Their response also comes just months after the EPD shot and killed a gunman inside Evansville's west side Walmart.
"[The Eastland Mall] incident had the potential to be much worse if it weren't for the quick response of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office and the Evansville Police Department," Merriss said.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville police release new records in Eastland Mall Braylin Underwood
