After a shooting Saturday inside the University Park Mall, the mall’s owner is vowing to increase security.
But an expert says there’s only so much a mall owner can do to make the public feel safe.
If you or your kids sometimes visit the University Park Mall, you might have been rattled by news Saturday that someone fired gunshots during an argument at center court. No one was seriously hurt but Mishawaka police later announced they’d arrested a 16-year-old male after he turned up at the hospital seeking treatment for a gunshot wound to his foot.
The mall’s owner, Simon Property Group, has declined our interview request but in a statement says, “Out of an abundance of caution, additional security will be deployed.”
So how can a mall keep guns out when they’re so easy to get on the street? It likely can’t, says Tom Stucky, professor of criminal justice at IUPUI.
Malls already are struggling to compete with the convenience of e-commerce. Stucky says metal detectors would send a message to shoppers that the mall also isn’t safe. The Mall of America tried them for a short time last year after a spate of shootings but ended the trial, saying there are just too many entrances to police.
Instead, Stucky says malls should work on ways to better monitor large groups of young people.
"The circumstances that can lead to conflict are more predictable," Stucky said. "So it's worth thinking through, can we prevent or do our best to limit the likelihood of those kinds of things happening."
