SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Mark Dorame remembers running through the Empire Mall Friday night after gunshots were fired.
“I remember my heart beating really hard and just running,” Dorame said.
The call came in around 7:30 p.m. that evening.
“We didn’t know what it was at first, but then we realized people were screaming and running all over the place. So, I took it the worst and thought it was gunshots. So, I told everyone that we had to get out of there, like right away,” Chase Haffeman said.
“My friend Chase yells, ‘Run, run, run.’ So, then we ran out the first exit we saw, and then we were like, ‘Are we okay?’ And then we heard the cop cars and people screaming,” Sam Paasch said. “Everyone was scared. Nobody knew what was happening.”
Haffeman and Paasch were shopping inside of the mall when the situation arose.
Dorame owns one of the stores inside the mall. He said he was leaving to get food when he realized what was happening and ran back to his store.
“By the time I had got there, they were starting to close the gate, and I was like, ‘Hey, guys, I’m here, you know, open the gate.’ And as I was going in, a couple more people came by and I was like, ‘You guys can come in here, you know, come in the safety here.’ And some people came, and some people just kept running, you know, just kind of whatever was on their mind that they did,” Dorame said.
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Dorame said the mall provides training for all store owners for situations like this but that nothing can prepare you for when it becomes a reality.
“My wife had called me and that’s when it kind of got real. I said, ‘They’re coming to get me.’ And she’s like, ‘What’s going on? Is everything okay? Like, what’s going on?’ I could hear my son in the background saying, ‘Daddy, are you okay?'” Dorame said.
About 90 minutes later, law enforcement agencies escorted Dorame and everyone in his store outside safely.
Police said no one was hurt, and there’s no ongoing threat to the public. On Saturday, the Empire Mall was back open during its regular business hours with additional security.
“The police department did such a good job of letting them know that they were present there,” Dorame said.
Police arrested 18-year-old Jaden Michael Justis Bingham on two counts of aggravated assault. He was booked into the Minnehaha County Jail and is being held on a $100,000 bond.
KELOLAND News expects to receive more details during Monday morning’s police briefing.