Shattered glass in Tigard’s Washington Square Mall sparks rumors

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Despite social media posts to the contrary, there was no shooting inside Washington Square Mall in Tigard on Sunday.

A disgruntled employee shattered a glass case inside a store, police said, leading others to speculate about the sound.

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“About 12:35 this afternoon, we started getting calls from several people calling into 911 who thought there was some kind of shots fired or active shooter incident at Washington Square Mall. Fortunately that was not the case,” Tigard PD spokesperson Kelsey Anderson told KOIN 6 News. “We learned that there was a glass case that was shattered by a disgruntled employee inside one of the stores at the mall.

People inside the mall didn’t know what the sound was and reacted differently, she said.

“They responded in a variety of ways. Some people ran out of the mall. Some were inside stores and sheltered in place. Some hid in back storage areas.”

Tigard officers went to the mall and contacted everyone they could to share the news the mall was safe and always had been.

“They contacted everyone who had been hiding inside the stores there and helped share that message as well,” Anderson said.

The way people responded was understandable, she said.

“It’s a busy summer Sunday afternoon and that’s a very busy shopping center. So we understand why there was that sense of panic there as they worked to figure out what they heard,” Anderson told KOIN 6 News. “But again, fortunately it was just shattered glass and nothing else.”

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