‘Panic mode’: Witnesses recount shooting at Target in Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. (KLKN) — The scene at Omaha’s 178th Street Target unfolded in a matter of minutes Tuesday afternoon.
“The shots — they continued,” shopper Krista Campbell said. “You don’t know when you walk out, is it like an ambush thing? Are you going to walk out and get shot when you walk out?”
Employees turned with shoppers to run as a man opened fire, getting everyone to exits as fast as possible.
Once they slowed down, emotions started to pour out.
“I was scared that this is how I might die — at work,” Target employee Lauren Murphy said. “It was just terrifying.”
Campbell has been a regular at that Target for over four years.
But this time was life or death.
She recounted seeing a woman’s eyes get big as she looked at the shooter, yelling “he’s got a gun!” in the first signal to others to start running to safety.
Once out to the parking lot, Campbell said, she noticed a woman clutching her little boy. The woman was heard saying she did not have a car as she pounded on car windows, looking for any escape.
“She didn’t know what to do,” Campbell said. “Someone let her in their car. Everyone was just helping everyone get to their cars.”
Ducking behind clothing racks and hiding in bathrooms, both shoppers and employees were quick to react in getting everyone out of the building.
“Even outside, you could hear gunshots going,” Campbell said. “People just dropping everything and running out of the store. There were people on the ground who fell when they were trying to run out. But you just don’t know what to do. You just kind of go into panic mode.”
Target employees are kept up to date on active shooter training.
They were able to act swiftly today alongside the Omaha Police Department and all first responders.
And that resulted in the best possible outcome: No shoppers or employees were hurt, and police quickly killed the gunman when they arrived.
