Mall Operators Wonder What To Do About Shootings; Plan March Safety Summit

In a story titled, "One More Merchant Worry: Mall Violence," the National Retail Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers note they are at a loss about what to do regarding a spike in mall shootings.

"LaRocca said both trade groups will host a first-ever conference focused specifically on mall violence. The conference, which includes mall operators and individual retailers, will be held in New Orleans in late March. He said there will be plenty of discussion about training employees on how best to protect themselves and customers in a shooting or hostage situation.
And all security options are on the table for discussion, including adding metal detectors at shopping centers."

Here's an idea . . . Quit turning malls into victim rich zones, to start.

"One security expert says he's noticed an increase in public crimes when the economy is in a downturn, although NRF's LaRocca said his group has shied away from linking violent mall crimes to the state of the economy. Rising unemployment in a recessionary environment facilitates all types of crime such as robberies and burglaries and drug use among young people, said Chris McGoey, an independent security consultant who specializes in crime prevention."

The shootings happening in malls are not about robberies or drugs. And mall rent-a-cops armed with a flashlight and a giant set of keys aren't going to stop a shooter. If just one store manager . . . if just a handful of shoppers had been armed, things would likely have been different in Omaha, and perhaps even Tinley Park.

"Mall operators also want to avoid expensive lawsuits that can result from shootings at their locations, he said."

I'll bet they do. The big lawsuit that is yet to come??? It will be filed by the survivors of a shooting, or their family members, and they will be going after a mall operator for willfully creating an unsafe business environment. Because mall operators have turned their facilities into safe zones for predators

That one big thing retailers and mall operators could do -- permit lawful carry in their malls -- will likely NEVER be allowed on the table as a discussion point during the New Orleans summit. They will claim that all security options have been be discussed. Or they will weasel-word their way out of it, suggesting that all "legitimate security options" have been batted around.

But it is a safe bet that political correctness and fear will win out over logic and safety.