American Dream Mall Turned into Nightmare

Shots rang out at East Rutherford’s American Dream Mall on Thursday, April 7. An announcement of a firearm entering the building was declared a few minutes before 6:00 p.m. and sent shoppers into a frenzy. As they ran for safety within nearby stores, they created a disarray that separated children from their parents.

Concisely after, the New Jersey State Police completely locked down the mall. At 6:18 p.m., Governor Phil Murphy announced on Twitter, “I have been briefed on the shooting at the American Dream Mall and @NJSP has set up a command post. We are closely monitoring the situation, and are praying for those impacted.” He compelled the public to steer clear of the area at this time.

Only one man, still unidentified, was reported shot in the chest twice and was taken to an area hospital. With the preliminary investigation, state police were able to discover that there was just a single suspect who shot the aforementioned victim, around 5:50 p.m. This was dubbed an “isolated investigation”.

Sometime by 7:00 p.m., state police escorted each section to the theme park area at a time. For those who were separated, state police directed, “Anyone looking to reunite with any family members, please go to Lot 26” at 7:19 p.m.

By 8:17, NJ State Police stated it “has been determined not to be an active shooter” situation. At that point, all patrons had been led to the parking garage and permitted to slowly leave. The separated families were able to reunite.

Later that evening, Governor Phil Murphy tweeted gratitude for the NJ State Police’s response to the situation. He wrote, “Thank you to our brave @NJSP Troopers and law enforcement professionals on the scene at the American Dream Mall. We are incredibly grateful for your swift response.