ROANOKE, VA – Valley View Mall now has a very different feel than it did Saturday evening.
People we spoke with who were inside the mall on Saturday tell us they felt panicked and uncertain after hearing reports of a loud bang echoing through the mall.
We know now that those were not gunshots, but one woman tells us at the time, she was afraid for her life.
“I didn’t know what it was, but I knew if people were running, then we needed to run to the back and hide in a safe space,” Jodi Leffue said.
Jodi Leffue rarely goes to the mall - but on Saturday, she found herself inside Valley View during what she describes as a terrifying situation.
“There was a woman who was crying, there was a little girl with her father and she was crying. Everybody was very scared, very tearful,” Leffue said.
An employee in Ulta, where Leffue was, locked the doors, while everyone hid in the back. It was almost an hour later when they were given the all-clear.
“Until you’ve been in one of these situations, you don’t really know what you’re going to do,” Leffue said.
Police were able to determine that the banging sounds weren’t gunshots, but instead a metal sign knocked over by a group of teenagers
We sat down with Lieutenant William Drake with the Roanoke City Police Criminal Investigation Unit who says no property was damaged, and because the group of boys were on their way out, they were technically in line with the mall’s youth escort policy.
It says anyone under 18 has to be with an adult after 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Drake says as long as you leave when asked, there are no trespassing charges.
“They were leaving the property, so they were in compliance with the policy, so if they’re in compliance and they’re leaving, there’s really no repercussions for that,” Drake said.
“Do you think the policy is working?” 10 News Reporter Abbie Coleman asked.
“It is a very sufficient policy, and it’s a great policy. We want families to adhere to it, and we certainly don’t want to discourage our young men and women from coming to the mall, but they have to understand, at 4:00 p.m. this goes into place,” he said.
But Leffue wants change.
“We were fortunate, but what’s it going to be the next time?” she said.
Police tell us it’s still early in the investigation, but no charges have been filed.