CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Just after 8 p.m. Saturday holiday shoppers swarmed Chesapeake’s Greenbrier Mall. Minutes later, police swarmed the same mall after the sound of gunshots filled the parking lot near the Macy’s department store.
A spokesperson from the Chesapeake Police Department confirmed to 10 On Your Side that they received reports around 8:13 p.m. in the 1400 block of Greenbrier Parkway in reference to a shooting in the Greenbrier Mall parking lot.
Before those shots went off, Pam Coley was inside shopping when she noticed something was off.
“I was in Macy’s, I had several items in my hand, kind of walking through,” said Coley. “Got to where the Macy’s opens up into the mall entrance…. and it was very loud out there.”
Not long after, the yelling escalated.
“There was a gentleman who had come in walking very fast,” she explained. “Had said there’s a lot of commotion out there, guys I think we need to leave.”
Coley didn’t think twice and decided to leave the items she was buying and leave the mall.
“Things got really loud and I just got a really weird feeling. I put my items down on the nearest shelf and I walked out the door and went to my car and when I got outside there were a lot of people; it was just crazy,” Coley said.
By the time she drove across Greenbrier Parkway to another store, Coley said blue and red lights filled the parking lot she’d just left. She missed the shooting by mere minutes. Police tell us no one was hurt.
“I was like ‘Oh my goodness I was just there’ and for a split second it ran through what had previously happened at the Walmart,” recalled Coley.
The shooting at a Chesapeake Walmart, just five minutes away, is still fresh on her mind, and Coley’s taking this opportunity to ask others to trust their gut and look out for each other.
“Your mind always goes back to ‘what if?’ especially when we’ve just experienced it so close to home so recently, but everyone just needs to be aware,” said Coley. “If you see something say something.”
If you have any information about this case, you can submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, downloading the P3 tips app to a mobile device, or visiting www.P3tips.com and submitting a tip.
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