Mall of America Practices Emergency Lockdown Drill

The Mall of America security team will be doing monthly lockdown drills to ensure they are ready if and when trouble strikes. They had their first drill earlier this week, shortly after the mall opened.

This exercise and approach to preparedness is one that I’m hoping other shopping mall managers across the country will take notice of and consider adopting.

Last month you might recall, Spike TV’s Surviving Disaster,  featured an episode on  how to survive and escape an active shooting by a group of terrorists in a shopping mall. You can see that video here.

From KARE11

The primary goal of a lockdown is to minimize potential victims during crisis situations and buy time for the police to arrive.

A second drill was scheduled to take place at 9:25 p.m. Monday night. Mall officials say practicing the drills shortly after store opening and just prior to store closing minimizes any negative impact on retail sales and guest experiences.

The new “Lockdown” will be used during situations where extraordinary measures need to be taken to ensure the safety of guests, tenants and employees at Mall of America.

“It is the security department’s job to keep those 40 million visitors safe every day and with this new lockdown plan, we have a procedure that will help us to be prepared for any unique circumstances we may encounter,”said Heidi Buegler, Emergency Operations Captain at Mall of America.

The Mall of America security ensures the safety of more than 40 million visitors and more than 11,000 employees every year.

“The best way to know what to do in a crisis situation is to practice,” said Dan Murphy, Bloomington Police officer. “We believe that by practicing these lockdown drills, tenants, employees and guests will be prepared for a lockdown.”

The next round of drills will come after Jan. 1 and then take place twice a month.

via Source.