Overland Park police are quick to say that Oak Park Mall is one of the safest in America. But that claim is cold comfort after another shooting incident at the mall this week.
What should have been a quiet Wednesday night for patrons browsing post-holiday sales suddenly turned frantic when the mall was shut down while police investigated a report of gunfire outside the east entrance.
No injuries were reported, but an unoccupied vehicle in the parking lot was struck by gunfire. Police continue to search for possible victims and suspects. Officers found several shell casings and a trail of blood.
Every store in the mall was forced to lock down, leaving hundreds of holiday shoppers and mall employees unnerved and no doubt concerned about their own safety.
Overland Park Police Officer John Lacy said two off-duty officers are employed by the mall to provide security at all times. Undercover detectives also work a fraud and theft detail with a focus on shoplifters, which essentially is a full-time job.
Mall officials now have beefed up security, and there will be a larger police presence until the end of the year. But is the response enough to to deter more violence at the mall — and assuage shoppers’ concerns? There are no immediate plans to permanently increase the number of off-duty officers there.
“Oak Park is still one of the safest malls in America, let alone the Kansas City area,” Lacy said.
This was the second shooting at Oak Park Mall since October, though. And regardless of what crime statistics show over the long term, two shootings in a span of just several weeks have left some shoppers and employees feeling rattled.
“Two times,” Piyush Patel, manager at the Subway restaurant in the mall, told The Star. “It’s too much.”
A Kansas City, Kan., man is facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the first shooting at the shopping center.
In Overland Park, gun violence is relatively rare. Two people were killed by gunfire in the city in 2018.
Now, Overland Park officials must focus on public safety at Oak Park Mall, one of the city’s most valuable assets. The mall generates significant revenue for Overland Park, accounting for an estimated $3.47 million in sales tax revenue, or about 6.4 percent of the city’s sales tax receipts in 2017.
Law enforcement officials and mall management must be proactive in ensuring that Oak Park is safe. Deploying more officers to patrol the mall and hiring more security are a good place to start. Uniformed police are often a deterrent to criminal behavior.
Kansas City police beefed up patrols in the Country Club Plaza after the second of two incidents involving gunfire in recent months. A shooting Dec. 8 resulted in more patrol officers in the area and more off-duty officers working security.
The Country Club Plaza and Oak Park Mall are among the area’s most popular shopping destinations. And this spate of shootings could do long-term damage to the bottom line at both shopping centers if visible efforts aren’t undertaken to protect the public.
Overland Park Police must continue to engage with management to keep violent crime in check at the shopping center. And mall officials should not forget that public safety is the top priority.
Shoppers should be able to stroll through local malls without fear of gunfire. Law enforcement and local officials can’t afford to just wait and hope that these shootings were isolated incidents that will not be repeated.
This story was originally published December 28, 2018 3:24 PM.