Around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Alex Cervino heard gunshots echo through the concourse outside the store he manages within Savannah’s Oglethorpe Mall. He then saw mall security officers rush toward the gunfire sounds “almost immediately” after they started.
He said at the time of the shooting the store had no customers, so he and a colleague ran into the backroom. “We kind of just got back there and stayed calm,” he said. They waited for about four and a half hours to be cleared by officers to leave.
“As the police came, we were able to follow the instructions, and didn’t have any fuss about leaving personal stuff behind.” He painted a scene of broken glass, flip-flops and hats that had been left in the wake of people fleeing.
“It was close. When they were shooting that way, it was like toward our store. So it sounded close when it happened. I can’t say for sure,” Cervino said after being asked where the shooting might have started.
‘I can’t imagine charging toward that’
Cervino also said the mall’s LiveSafe app, which most mall store employees have downloaded on their smartphones, provided effective communication updates from mall security throughout and after the incident.
He read the updates as he and a colleague hunkered down in the storeroom. He said that those who had hid in the store during the shooting incident were asked to provided statements to law enforcement before leaving late last night.
Cervino felt the Wednesday evening security response was appropriate. “Even some videos online that I’ve seen, it looked like there were a number of people on the scene almost immediately. So, you know, hearts out to them. I can’t imagine charging toward that, but they did a good job, I think.”
Roughly two weeks earlier, Cervino said the company he works for (he asked it not be named) held its annual active shooter training. “I finished just last Friday, actually.”
He and other mall employees returned Thursday around noon to gather personal belongings left behind or to properly clean and close their stores. Mall security officials appeared to let only one or two employees in at a time through the entrance of the former Kirkland’s store.
Oglethorpe Mall owner and security vendor
The Oglethorpe Mall’s property owner Brookfield Properties confirmed that Andy Frain Services provides security at the 900,000+-square-foot mall. Brookfield’s code of conduct rules for the mall prohibited guns on the property. Signs posted at mall entrances also state that guns are not allowed on the premise.
Brookfield’s press department said via email that its “comprehensive security program” includes public-facing and “behind the scenes elements.” The statement read that to share those security protocols publicly “may compromise their effectiveness.”
The Brookfield press department would not confirm how long it has contracted with Andy Frain as the security vendor. Brookfield added that it “remains committed to maintaining a safe environment and work closely with law enforcement and security professionals to ensure all necessary measures are in place.”
Brookfield directed further questions to the Savannah Police Department (SPD) since the situation is “an active police investigation.” SPD officials did not immediately respond to inquiries into how it collaborates through the SPD Oglethorpe Mall precinct with Andy Frain on security measures.
Andy Frain Services did not immediately respond to a request for an interview prior to publication. Security officers onsite Thursday said members of the media were not allowed on mall property. An officer who answered the mall’s security line Thursday morning stated that he could not speak about yesterday’s incident, but did provide the press contact for Brookfield.
Andy Frain’s webpage on retail security provides insights into its practices, noting it has “been awarded National SAFETY Act Certification by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”
Brookfield is an international company with properties located across Australia, Brazil, Europe, India, the Middle East and North America. It owns mall properties throughout Georgia, including Augusta Mall, Cumberland Mall, Perimeter Mall and Peachtree Mall.
Andy Frain Services’ April job posting for a security officer position at Oglethorpe Mall notes that basic functions of the role entail “control of entrances and movement of pedestrian and vehicle traffic,” “patrol of buildings and perimeters,” and “inspection of security and fire exposures.”
Although the mall was closed Thursday, July 3, the Belk department store was open and will be open until 8 p.m. according to an employee working in the cosmetics section. It’s mall-facing entrances were shuttered Thursday afternoon.
JC Penny and Barnes and Noble, two of the larger stores with separate entrances facing the mall parking lot, remained closed Thursday.
This is a developing story.
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at [email protected] and JoeInTheKnow_SMN on Instagram.
Ansley Franco is an intern with the Savannah Morning News, covering public safety and general assignments. You can reach her at [email protected].
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