By Sam Schaust/Murphy News Service

Some Mall of America employees remain uncertain about their safety at work despite extra precautions implemented recently after the mall was cited as a possible terrorist target.

In late February, the Somali Islamist group al-Shabab alluded to the mall and other large shopping destinations as potential sites for attacks. Minnesota is home to the largest concentration of Somalis outside of their home country (approx. 60,000 to 70,000).

Concern among mall workers and visitors escalated over the protection they would receive in event of a terrorist attack.

Mall officials would not comment for this story, but did release the following statement:

“Mall of America is aware of a video that was recently released which included a mention and images of the Mall. We will continue to monitor events with the help of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. As always, we take any potential threat seriously and respond appropriately. Mall of America has implemented extra security precautions, some may be noticeable to guests, and others won’t be. We will continue to follow the situation, along with law enforcement, and will remain vigilant as we always do in similar situations. The safety and security of our guests, employees and tenants remains our top priority.”

The mall employs roughly 11,000 year-round, with a peak of 13,000 during busier periods, all of whom are corralled within the Bloomington megamall’s 4.8 million-square-foot structure. The shopping mecca includes another 87 acres of land and parking structures outdoors to patrol with 100 full-time and 50 part-time security officers.

Preparation for security over the mall “starts with training and it starts with equipment,” said Mike Hartley, deputy chief and public information officer for the Bloomington Police Department.

Hartley said he believes the Mall of America’s security is fully fortified “with adequate manpower and the right resources in place that would be able to respond to a situation.”

With the weekend’s heightened foot traffic, safeguards such as increased visibility of security personell inside the mall and near doorways are a first step to propagating safety.

Between the hours of 4 and 5 p.m. last Saturday, (Feb. 28) the number of uniformed police officers and mall security guards totaled the following on the ground floor:

East entrance	3 security guards
South entrance	3 security guards
West entrance	3 security guards, 1 police officer
North entrance	Closed for construction

The four corner stores – Sears, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Forever 21 – maintained a presence of three to four mall security or police officers within the same 4-5 p.m. timeframe.

Forty million people visit the Mall of America annually, the mall’s website says.

The 24-year-old manager of Sea Life, Shaniqua Cook, says there is a lockdown procedure in place in the event of a terrorist attack, but it’s a possibility she thinks about daily.

“I don’t like to show that I’m afraid,” Cook said, “but I think about it every day. My family calls me everyday when I get home just to make sure I’m safe.”

London King, a 20-year-old student at Minneapolis Community & Technical College and the manager of American Apparel at the mall, expressed fewer worries  but said some co-workers have shared conversations about terrorism concerns.

“We try not to think about it,” King said.

King said no specific plan has been laid out for her staff in the event of terrorist activity.

“The mall had a meeting on Feb. 26 with all of the tenants,” she said, but added that she missed that meeting. “We’ve been too busy to talk about it as a store, but we’ll probably run to the back. There’s an elevator to the loading docks that should be a safe getaway.”

Liz Cohen, a corporate spokesperson from American Apparel, replied to King’s remarks with an official statement from the clothing company, saying:

“We have a thorough set of emergency protocols on which all store managers are briefed. We also take steps to ensure that our employees know and follow these procedures, such as regular communications with managers and training for new employees.”

Cohen also cited that a global retail conference call occurred on Feb. 24 regarding “active incident procedures,” to which information discussed during that call was passed along to the store managers.

Sea Life’s Cook detailed that facility’s lockdown procedure as being more dependent on the current working staff.

“Every position has a duty to grab everyone in their area,” Cook said. “At that point they’d all run for the exit [at Sea Life’s] front entranceway.”

Other mall employees expressed confidence in the security officials and the precautions being taken. Many people who work at MOA, including some storefront security guards, refused to be named or interviewed, saying they had been instructed to not speak to the news media. Storefront security guards shared the same sentiment.

However, local and federal law enforcement officials are encouraging open communication and participation from the public.

“Obviously we can’t combat terror threats by ourselves,” the Bloomington Police Department’s Hartley said. “We’ve got to utilize everyone and remind everyone to keep their eyes and ears peeled for suspicious behavior.”

Reporter Sam Schaust is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.