UPDATE – Friday, August 5th, 2022 at 4:00 pm – On Friday, Samantha Busch posted on her Instagram about being in the Mall of America on Thursday when the shots were fired inside:
In the Instagram post, Samantha said that they had been spending the afternoon riding the rides in the center of the mall, before the girls split up to shop, while the boys stayed for more rides.
“Then chaos ensured,” she continued. “I was standing at the entrance of H&M which is on floor 1 when I heard screaming from above. A group of people were running and yelling. My brain instantly thought it was just teenagers being goofy and then a split second later herds of people on levels 2 and 3 were running. Next, a wave of people started down our corridor and that’s when I heard people shouting ‘active shooter in the mall’.”
Samantha says that she then called her husband, Kyle Busch, who was next in line for a ride with their son Brexton and had no idea what had happened just a few floors above. The pair stayed on the phone together, while the girls ran outside to get as much distance from the mall as they could, and the boys went to the nearest parking garage.
“There were people crying, shouting on cell phones, sirens going off, everyone was confused and didn’t know what was happening, which was the scary part. You didn’t know if it was one person, multiple people, where exactly they were in the mall or outside too, where was it safe to go?”
Later in the update, Samantha says that it was a “dispute between two groups that ended in shots fired” that forced the Bloomington, Minnesota tourist location to be evacuated on Thursday.
“It’s a lot to process as an adult but really hard as a parent to explain to your child what happened yesterday,” Samantha Busch continued. “Why it happened, what to do in a situation like that, what to do if it was another type of situation. How much do you cover without making it worse for them?”
Kyle Busch, his wife Samantha, and their two children have been reported as safe on Thursday evening, after the family was inside the Mall of America in Blooming, Minnesota when local police reported that “shots were fired”, according to CBS News.
Samantha Busch posted an update to her Instagram story before 6:00 p.m. ET saying: “If you are seeing the news about the [Mall of America] we got out and are safe. Praying others inside are too.”
Andy Paras – a News Director at FOX 55 in Fort Wayne, Indiana – posted a video of people scattering in an attempt to exit the Mall of America. At the 19-second mark of the video, you can see Kyle Busch and his son Brexton walking amongst a crowd of people.
Chaos and confusion at @mallofamerica. Making people go outside. #mallofamerica pic.twitter.com/NzMvI7iK6m
— Andy Paras (@AndyParas) August 4, 2022
According to CBS News, Bloomington police say that this was “an isolated incident”, and that the suspect was quickly able to flee from the mall. Police also say that nobody was injured in the incident.
Busch is scheduled to compete in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, where he’ll pilot the No. 18 Toyota Camry TRD for Joe Gibbs Racing.
