Hoosier thanks store employees who helped her and her family during Castleton Square Mall shooting

INDIANAPOLIS — It was business as usual at Castleton Square Mall on Monday — but some shoppers WRTV spoke with say they're on edge, days after the second shooting at the mall this year.

“[It's] very scary, makes you not want to come shopping,” Indianapolis resident Sara Artis said.

An 18-year-old man was arrested for his role in the incident. He was also the person who was shot and injured.

WRTV looked into IMPD police reports and found that officers have been called to the mall at least 300 times since the beginning of 2022.

That includes a January shooting in the parking lot that left a teenager dead.

“It shouldn’t happen. It’s just so sad that we have to think about that before we go into a Build-a-Bear store or anywhere with their children,” Fishers resident Susan Beck said.

Beck says Friday was a day that she will never forget. Beck and her family went to Build-A-Bear to create memories for her niece and nephew.

“I have a 92-year-old with me in a wheelchair and a baby in a stroller and a 3-year-old who is really not able to understand run,” Beck said.

The family split up.

Beck, her husband and 92-year-old mother sprinted to the Lego Store, where she says she found comfort in knowing that the employees in store were calm in the moment of chaos.

“If I had to be in a lockdown situation – you would never know that’s where you were,” Beck added.

Beck says she wants those employees to be acknowledged for helping her and her family during the midst of a situation that was full of unknowns.