SEATTLE — Post-Thanksgiving shopping is disrupted when accidental active shooter alarms sound at Pacific Place in Seattle.
This past weekend was one of the box office’s busiest.
“I was super excited,” said Seattle movie-goer, Hannah Proctor.
Proctor joined millions in the post-Thanksgiving rush to see ‘Wicked’ but her Saturday theatre experience at the AMC theater at Seattle’s Pacific Place was cut short.
“So about an hour into the movie, there were, like, some alarms going off in the theater,” said Proctor. “A few minutes into the alarms, we could tell that it was saying, ‘Active shooter, please follow the procedures.’ So everyone just kind of got up out of their seats, started running to the exits. It was definitely like a mass panic situation trying to get out of the building.”
Proctor said the alarm broadcasted warnings of an active shooter. She said it prompted her and a friend to run out of the theatre and across the street.
She said she was confused by the lack of police presence that followed. Proctor later learned that the alarm inside the shopping center and theatre was accidental.
One security guard inside Pacific Place told KIRO 7, “It happens sometimes.”
Pacific Place management confirmed the incident to KIRO 7 while reiterating there was never an active shooter.
In a statement, management wrote:
A technical issue resulted in a false alarm that has been corrected. The center continues to operate normally. The safety of our guests and retailers is always our top priority. However, we do not comment on security measures for obvious reasons.
Despite her initial fear, Proctor said she’s comforted in part that there are alarms in place, something she didn’t realize the shopping center had.
“In the future, I think ensuring that drills are at a time when people aren’t there is probably the best course of action,” Proctor said about the incident.
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