On Saturday, chaos erupted at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center when crowds fled in fear of an active shooter. Nearby, at Guest 365 Convenience Store, owner Amie Amogu and her staff were unaware of the situation until they saw people rushing in for safety. Surveillance footage captured the panic, with cheerleaders and parents scrambling inside. Amogu recalled a young girl calling her mother in fear, which deeply affected her. After about 10 minutes, police assured them there was no threat; what had been mistaken for gunfire were actually falling poles from a fight. Ten people were injured in the panic.
As crowds evacuated the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on Saturday due to concerns about an active shooter, employees at Guest 365 Convenience Store just a few blocks away were completely unaware of the impending situation.
“It was less than five minutes after I first heard the news when I turned around and saw people rushing in, and I thought, ‘Come in and stay, wherever you can,’” recounted store owner Amie Amogu.
Security footage captures individuals running past the convenience store shortly after 1 p.m., with many heading directly for the entrance.
“We didn’t have any information, only fear,” Amogu expressed.
Footage from inside reveals cheerleaders and parents racing to the back of the store as employees hurried to close and lock the doors.
“What broke my heart was witnessing the young children in a state of panic,” said clerk Emmanuel Edesili, who subsequently turned off the lights.
According to Amogu, around 40 individuals who entered through various doors waited anxiously inside the store. “One girl called her mother, saying, ‘I’m scared, I don’t want to die,’ and that really affected me,” Amogu recalled.
After calling 911 and receiving confirmation that there was no threat, the group emerged around ten minutes later, some still noticeably shaken.
“They’re so heartbroken, wondering if there really could be a shooter out there targeting them,” Amogu noted.
Before the situation began to calm down, employees assisted a woman experiencing a medical emergency, demonstrating their readiness to help at a moment’s notice.
“My family and I come from a background where we are our brother’s keeper, so when we had the chance to assist people, we were eager to do so,” Amogu stated.
In total, ten individuals were injured in the chaos as people fled the Convention Center.
Dallas police later clarified that what people initially thought were gunshots were actually the sounds of poles collapsing during a scuffle.
On Monday, the Dallas Police addressed images circulating on social media that appear to show bullet holes in the Convention Center. Authorities confirmed that the damage is from 2019, and there is no evidence of a shooting occurring on Saturday.