"What If" At Ward Parkway

Two people very close to me were at Ward Parkway Shopping Center when Sunday's terrible events transpired. They were completing a transaction at T.J. Maxx when they saw police rushing by the store's exterior windows. The pair retreated to the back of the store. They'd spend the next ninety minutes there during a lockdown. I'm told that the T.J. Maxx staff were exceptionally gracious hosts. The store sells food items, which were opened and offered to the approximately 100 captive customers. The staff also passed out cups of water drawn from the employee cooler. The store manager shared official updates from the police over the store's intercom. Police eventually interviewed each customer before escorting them individually to their vehicles. My people were parked about 25 yards away from the shooter's car.