‘Freaking out inside’: Mayfair Mall employees discuss shooting that injured 8

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) — It has been five days since Bruce Riley heard gunshots while he was at his store with his four-year-old daughter. 

“I told my four-year-old, Jordan, to run in the back and lock herself in the office and don’t come out until daddy called her,” said Riley, co-owner of Wisconsin Curated Creations. 

He said he was trying to help as many people as he could. 

“I see people running. It was a chaotic situation. People were running, grabbing their babies, dropping their bags,” he said. 

Every store owner and employee has a story from the shooting that left eight people injured at Mayfair Mall. 

“Although I didn’t hear the shots, I heard the people scrambling in the mall,” said Sammy Belton, the owner of Celebrity Status Barber & Beauty. 

“They’re running. They’re saying, ‘Abdul, we have an active shooter,’” said Abdelkhalek Azzab, owner of Egyptian International Art. 

“When I received the text, I was like freaking out inside,” said Rishika Joshi, supervisor at Shoe-tique. She was not working that day, but her dad was. 

“I always feel safe regardless, I’m just that type of person. I can understand why others may feel a little leery based on what they’ve seen on the news and social media,” said Belton about how he feels returning to the mall. 

Joshi says business has been slow since the mall reopened. 

“Business has like really, really slowed down. That’s like reasonable, if I was in their place, I would be scared, too,” she said. 

She and others said there has been an increased security presence and more police officers. 

“We’re very grateful for them,” she said. 

“I walked in the mall yesterday. It’s more security, more police stationed inside the mall and to make safety a priority here inside the mall,” said Riley. 

Riley says he hopes those at the mall and in the community can get past the shooting together. 

“I think we need everybody as a unit, as a community. Just move forward together and we can just get the job done, accomplish more together.”