An Edmonton woman who uses a wheelchair to get around is looking for answers from West Edmonton Mall (WEM) after being told there wasn’t room for her and a friend in several stores during a lockdown drill.
Sarah, who doesn’t want her last name used, was at WEM Wednesday night when the mall performed a lockdown drill. Shoppers were told to go to the nearest store and to follow the instructions from staff.
Sarah and her group were in a store when the lockdown began. She said the clerk told the three there wouldn’t be room for them in the back room because of the two wheelchairs and that they had to leave the store.
WEM hasn’t returned a request for comment as of publishing, but an employee of the mall, who didn’t want to be named, said it is practice for shoppers to come into a store, be taken into the back room and for the store to shut its doors during a lockdown.
Sarah and her friends left the store and tried to enter three more stores, but were either turned away, or found doors that were already closed.
“We were sitting ducks with targets on our backs. What if it had been real?” she said. “Where’s my safety? Why is everybody else in a safe place and I’m not?
“Why does my chair define my safety?”
She said she messaged the mall Thursday morning explaining what happened. The response said they’d look into it.
A video Sarah posted on Facebook shows an empty mall with closed storefronts. An announcement can be heard telling people to go to the nearest store and follow the directions of staff.
During the drill, Sarah spotted a security guard and explained what happened. She said he was shocked at the store employees’ responses.
“What if during the drill someone walked in with a gun or weapon and it turned into an actual situation, what would happen then? Our safety would be in great peril because there’s nowhere for us to go. Or we could turn into suspects ourselves just sitting there. Security doesn’t know who has a gun and who doesn’t.”
Sarah heard back from the mall Friday morning via Facebook and shared the message with 630 CHED.
“We exercise lockdown drills so that concerns like this can be addressed during a drill, rather than the unfortunate event of a real incident,” the mall wrote to her. “As a result, we will use your feedback to work with our retailers to further ensure the safety of all guests, including those in wheelchairs or with limited mobility.”
Sarah isn’t pleased with that answer saying it feels like her concerns aren’t going to be met and “that nothing will change.”
630 CHED has reached out to WEM for comment, but they have not responded.
Comments