Free Republic

TAMPA — Tuesday afternoon’s smash-and-grab robbery - three men broke a jewelry case and ran off with its contents - was typical in many ways, but with two important distinctions: ♦ It happened at the International Plaza, a popular, high-end mall in Tampa that was crowded with post-Christmas shoppers, and ♦ When one of the men used a small sledgehammer to break open the jewelry case, the breaking glass sounded like gunshots. Those were important distinctions. The fear that a gunman was on the loose in International Plaza caused the mall to shut down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PafsIomt7Q

“No justice, no peace, no racist police.” That was one of the chants the crowd of about 50 protesters shouted Saturday outside Madison Memorial High School and in the food court of West Towne Mall. The protesters gathered around 3:30 p.m. and marched from the high school to the mall, shutting down one direction of traffic on Mineral Point Road, and held a “die-in” in the mall food court. “We are here because there are many injustices in our system,” said Brandi Grayson, one of the organizers of the protest, in the mall food court, over a megaphone. Grayson is...

MallshootingThis may or may not be jihad, but it is certainly a planned, coordinated series of attacks. “Third shooting in shopping mall confirmed,” by Steve Robson, Mirror, October 22, 2014 (thanks to Marc): Police have now confirmed there has been a third shooting at the Rideau Centre shopping mall near to the Parliament building. Armed officers were rushing towards the scene with guns drawn.

A few weeks ago the Dublin Girls had gathered inside the local mall for an evening power walk. They formed a small circle and as they had done many times before, they bowed their heads to petition the Almighty. But before one of the runners could say, “Lord Jesus,” she was interrupted by a mall cop barreling down a corridor. “The security guard came running toward us and said, ‘You are not allowed to pray at the mall. That’s against the policy,’” Tammy told me. The ladies were aghast. “I told him we’ve been praying since last November and no...

The Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J., was evacuated after unidentified noises feared to be gunshots were heard. A burning car outside Macy’s appeared to be the source of the explosive sounds, but police could not confirm that. Sources say SWAT teams were dispatched to the mall. Workers and shoppers at a New Jersey mall scrambled for cover Saturday night as unidentified noises they feared were gunshots erupted. A car on fire outside Macy’s at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J., appeared to be the source of the explosive sounds, but police could not confirm that. The mall...

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to the local neighborhood mall, or any mall for that matter. Malls are the one-stop shopping spots for people jonesing for a retail fix. Kinda like the sex strip or drug alley found everywhere from small towns to megatropolises. Just like malls. Economic circumstances kept me from engaging in the type of quick and dirty retail therapy you can score only at a mall. A couple of years of unemployment in the Obamaconomy required pinching pennies until Old Abe cried “uncle.” The details that led me to the mall on a recent afternoon are...

<p>As if the senseless massacre of innocents in Nairobi’s Westgate mall was not horrific enough, reports are surfacing that the Islamic terrorists who seized the mall last weekend tortured, beheaded, raped, and mutilated their victims before killing them. A police doctor who entered the mall after the attack said these reports “are not allegations. Those are f***ing truths.”</p>

There are 31 people confirmed dead in Saturday's attack at a Nairobi shopping mall, the Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre tweeted. "Bodies in the lobby area and ground floor to be removed," the organization added. Several hours after the assault began, Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked militant group based in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the bloodshed. There were also 100 people injured, the official said. As darkness fell in Nairobi, authorities said as many as 36 hostages are still being held by the gunmen in the mall... Americans were also injured in the attack, said Deputy State Department Spokesperson Marie Harf. But...

Kenyan police and soldiers have pinned down the remaining gunmen who opened fire at a shopping centre earlier today, killing 30 and leaving at least 50 others injured. A security source at the scene in the capital Nairobi confirmed moments ago the attackers have been isolated. The source said: 'The attackers have been isolated and are pinned down in an area on one of the floors - the rest of the mall seems to be secure.' No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is looking increasingly likely the Somalia terrorist group al-Shabaab may be responsible. A statement released...

Excerpt of article accompanying 14 photos of attack at source link: Militant gunmen stormed a shopping mall in Nairobi on Saturday killing at least 25 people, including children, and sending scores fleeing in panic from shops and restaurants onto the streets, according to witnesses and the Red Cross. Shooting continued hours after the initial assault as troops surrounded the Westgate mall and police and soldiers combed the building, hunting down the attackers shop by shop. A police officer inside the building said the gunmen were barricaded inside the Nakumatt supermarket, one of Kenya's biggest chains. "We got three bodies from...

Gunmen threw grenades and opened fire Saturday killing at least 10 people in an attack targeting non-Muslims at an upscale mall in Kenya's capital that was hosting a children's day event, witnesses said. A local hospital was overwhelmed with the number of wounded being brought in hours after the attack, so they had to divert them to a second facility. Elijah Kamau, who was at the mall at the time of the midday attack, said that the gunmen made a declaration that non-Muslims would be targeted. "The gunmen told Muslims to stand up and leave. They were safe, and non-Muslims...

Prolonged bursts of gunfire inside mall Witnesses say incident an attack, not robbery Some blasts may be from grenades, they say At least five people were killed when gunmen burst into a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Saturday and opened fire, witnesses said. Police helicopters circled overhead as armed police shouted "get out, get out", and scores of shoppers fled the building. Smoke poured out of one entrance and witnesses said they heard grenade blasts. Others said they saw about five armed assailants storm the Westgate shopping mall and that the incident appeared to be an...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Five Moroccan nationals arrested Wednesday for breaking into a San Antonio courthouse were found to have pictures of public buildings, water systems and malls across the country, Reuters reports. While they were nabbed by local police, the suspects will be interrogated by a joint terrorism task force that includes the FBI and immigration enforcement authorities, the wire service reported.

Five foreign men were arrested during a courthouse break-in early on Wednesday and police said they found photographs of public buildings, water systems and malls from various U.S. cities in their van. The men, at least three of whom were in their 20s, will be questioned by a joint terrorism task force including the FBI and immigration authorities, officials said. Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse said three men were found inside the 120-year-old Bexar County Courthouse, a landmark in downtown San Antonio and two in a large recreational vehicle parked in front of the building. She said all five were...

You won't believe how much has changed since then. Notice anything peculiar (other than the fashions) in some of these photos? (Many photos at link)

Retail Apocalypse: Why Are Major Retail Chains All Over America Collapsing? By Michael Snyder February 17th, 2013 If the economy is improving, then why are many of the largest retail chains in America closing hundreds of stores? When I was growing up, Sears, J.C. Penney, Best Buy and RadioShack were all considered to be unstoppable retail powerhouses. But now it is being projected that all of them will close hundreds of stores before the end of 2013. Even Wal-Mart is running into problems. A recent internal Wal-Mart memo that was leaked to Bloomberg described February sales as a "total disaster"....

SNIPPET: "They say they police intelligence unit arrested Asdatul Sahirun on Sunday at a shopping mall in the capital's Malate tourist district."

SNIPPET: ""If these attacks were aimed at seizing control of Kandahar city, as the Taliban proclaimed, they failed," a senior official from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) told Reuters, on condition of anonymity. Shooting erupted after the first explosion hours earlier and insurgents opened fire from a five-storey shopping mall toward the governor's fortified compound, from where security forces returned fire as black smoke rose over the city."

DENVER, Colo. -- The man police said planted a pipe bomb at a Littleton mall was released from prison one week before the incident. A nation-wide manhunt is underway for Earl Albert Moore, 65, who's accused of planting the explosives Wednesday, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings. Moore is considered armed and dangerous. The FBI confirmed that he had been serving time in a Georgia prison for a 2005 armed robbery in West Virginia. Moore had been sentenced to 18 years, but was released early on April 13. Authorities said just seven days later, he planted a pipe...