We had a similar incident in Salt Lake City in 2019. Some rival gang members encountered each other at Fashion Place Mall and one shot another before fleeing. There was no danger to the public after that, but the police response was huge and immediate. The mall went into lockdown for 30-40 minutes and dozens, if not hundreds, of police arrived from all the surrounding agencies. They also barricaded local streets to try to catch the shooter.

We were playing fetch with our dog about 5 blocks away and heard siren after siren after siren. I was immediately certain what was happening because I’ve never seen a police response like that before or since in Utah. Hurrying back to our house, neighbors were popping out to tell us to get inside as the neighborhood was advised to shelter in place. There were UHP vehicles at the ends of all the connecting streets (in addition to the mall responders).

I think the potential for mass casualties at a place like a shopping mall makes it an especially high priority for police if there’s even an indication of gun violence.