NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The terrifying moments after a shooting at Opry Mills are heard in the panic of people’s voices on 911 calls.
From those inside the mall, there was a lot of confusion, fear and the feeling that they needed to run for their lives.
“My manager heard gunshots and everyone was running and screaming,” said one of the 911 callers from Wednesday night at Opry Mills.
“How many shots have you heard? A lot, a lot,” was heard on one call between a caller and 911 dispatchers.
These 911 calls take us inside the moments patrons believed the worst was happening.
Nashville Metro Police responded to the call of a shooting at the mall shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday.
“Everything just came back from all the shootings,” said Alejandro Ontiveros. “The shooting in El Paso, the shooting in Vegas. Everything just popped into my mind and all we had to do was just run.”
Ontiveros made the trip from Morrison, TN, for his cousins seventh birthday.
“He was excited about going to Dave & Buster’s,” said Ontiveros.
He said he didn’t hear the gunshots. It was the fear in everyone else’s eyes that made him react for his cousin’s sake.
“He was scared. He didn’t know what was going on,” said Ontiveros. “I just grabbed his arm and we just took off. Like midway through the parking lot I asked this girl what’s going on. She was like someone has a gun.”
Nashville Metro Police have since determined it was a targeted shooting between two groups. Police has released the picture of the suspected shooter.
Police said "significant progress" is being made in the effort to identify the people involved in the shooting. Police said the victim is in stable condition.
