INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosiers are growing more concerned about their safety in public places because of recent shootings at Castleton Square Mall.
Eighteen-year-old Curtis Wilson was wounded in a shooting at the mall last Friday and was later arrested on a criminal recklessness charge. Sixteen-year-old Michael Mason was killed in a shooting outside the mall Jan. 3.
"What do what we do to make those venues safe for the people who work there, for the people who visit there and for the neighboring communities around them," said Peter Beering, a security expert at Beering Enterprises, Inc.
Beering said mall owners are always faced with challenges.
"Do you want to have a checkpoint at every door? Are you going to staff these checkpoints? What are you going to do if you find something suspicious at a checkpoint? You have a whole collection of questions that flow, from how are we going to conduct business, how safe do you want to be?" said Beering.
Beering said Simon Properties, which owns Castleton Square Mall, has sophisticated security in place.
"There are limits to what they are able to do and still make the mall an inviting place and they've struggled with that, as have every other operator because you don't want to go shopping or to dinner in a prison, but at the same time you don't want to have to look over your shoulder every minute," said Beering.
Beering said he's optimistic about the future of a mall's survival.
"It's a difficult business and it's one that changes every minute as people are less and less interested in going to a physical place. Instead, having someone bring it to the front door," said Beering.