It's often said by those in retail security that there is very little that can be done if a deranged individual or terrorist decides to walk or drive into a store or mall and begin killing people.
While there is truth in that position, the second massacre inside an American mall within a year's time along with the recent conviction of a an Islamic radical who wanted to blow up a shopping center in Ohio begs the question, should malls be altering standard security measures to deal with the worst-case scenario?
Yesterday, an individual identified as Robert Hawkins, 19, walked into an Omaha, Neb. Mall and proceeded to shoot and kill eight individuals while wounding several others before taking his own life. The shooter left a suicide note that said, "I'll be famous."
Yesterday's shooting follows another in Salt Lake City in February. There, an 18-year-old Bosnian immigrant named Sulejman Talovic went on a rampage shooting nine individuals and killing five. The shooter was killed by police gunfire.
In July, an immigrant from Somalia named Nuradin Abdi pleaded guilty to working with terrorists in a plot to blow up a mall in the Columbus, Ohio area.
Discussion Questions: Do the actions of the murderers in Omaha and Salt Lake along with the conviction of Nuradin Abdi on terrorist charges suggest that malls have become, for lack of a better word, a "prestigious" location for those seeking to go out in some type of perceived glory? What steps can be taken to prevent events like yesterday with the knowledge that it is likely a matter of time before a similar incident happens again?