Graduation, Late Bartenders and an Active Shooter

     We came to Tennessee for my baby boy's college graduation, but first we got freakishly close to an active shooting scenario.

     The easiest way to tell this story is in chronological order, but to address the lead sentence... There was a deadly active shooter situation at the Opry Mills Mall in Nashville, less than half a mile from our accommodations and in the exact location where we were walking less than 28 hours ago.

     Here's how we got to this point. Teresa and I are in Tennessee for my youngest son, Joe's, college graduation from Tennessee Tech University. For the first time in many times to visit, we flew. We had a 5:50am flight out of Lubbock through Dallas Love Field to Nashville.

     We decided to spend the night in Lubbock before our flight. I'm cheap. So we picked the lowest priced full service hotel. Big mistake! Suffice it to say, the lost reservation, the overly cheery check-in lady and then the late bartender were NOT a good start to our expedition to Tennessee.
      Things improved with a great Club Sandwich and perfect onion rings, but when they didn't give us our wake-up call and we found leftover coffee and coffee grounds in our in-room coffee maker the next morning... that pretty much crossed them off our list for any future visits.

     We flew Southwest. I pretty much closed my eyes till we landed in Nashville. But everything was fine. We rented a car. It's a 2019 Jeep Cherokee and for whatever reason it turns itself off at every stop. The car's great, but that turning off to presumably save fuel's gotta go!

     Fast forward to our connection to this shooting at Nashville's Opry Mills Mall. Just yesterday, we had lunch at Chuey's and then took a walk inside the mall while waiting for our room to be ready.
     We walked by the exact location of the shooting. We even pointed out to ourselves the exact stores where the shooting happened.... Old Navy and Annie's Pretzels.

     Okay if you've read this far and want to know more, here are some more precise details and conversations that we experienced within the last couple hours.
     The day began with a short drive from Nashville to Cookeville for lunch with Joe and his longtime girlfriend Sharon. Great visit. Not so good lunch. The lesson is and probably has been for many years is: Don't expect much when your college aged child recommends any place for a meal.

     Our drive back to Nashville was uneventful until our exit. First, there was a road sign saying "Exit 11 North closed at Briley Pkwy." Then, cop car after cop car after cop car. All with their sirens blaring. I didn't know where Exit 11 was but we were headed that way.

     As it just so happened, T wanted to get her toes done. I wanted to stop at the grocery store for supper tonight with Jack back at our accommodations. T got into "Snappy Nails." I parked and walked toward the next door grocery store.

     While I'm smoking outside, as I can't smoke in the car that kills itself at every stop, I notice a young couple pacing outside the store.
     "Sir," I heard a thickly accented man's voice say.
     "Sir."
     I can tell from his accent he's from out of town. The young woman with him isn't saying anything. She's just kind of hanging out behind him.
      "Sir, can I have a cigarette? She's upset."
      "Uh, yeah."
      "Got a light?"
      I gave him my lighter. He fired up while the woman still hung back. His accent was thick but understandable. He was dark skinned with dark hair. She was light skinned but not in an American, freckled kind of way. She also wore a lot of jewelry including a Star of David around her neck.
      "We just ran and got a ride to here."
      "What?"
      "We ran from the shooting at the mall."
      "You were there?"
      "Yes, we left everything. My wallet, my keys, everything."
      "What happened."
      "It was gang related. There were only three shots. It wasn't terrorism. We're from Israel."
      "You know it wasn't terrorism because you're from Israel."
      "Yes, we've had experience with terrorism."
      "You work at the mall?"
      "Yes."
       "Where, at one of the kiosks? What do you sell?"
      "Flat irons."

     I gave the man a couple more cigarettes and went into the store. By this time, the mall shooting's big news inside. Meantime, I can hear the sirens still blaring even through the closed, sliding doors.

      Time passed as I wondered the aisles waiting for T as "Snappy Nail." After that, the trick was (and still is) getting back to our accommodations. At this writing, Exit 11's still closed. The road to our place is blocked by police cruisers. The good news for us was/is, we found a back way to our room. But even getting into our compound, we had to prove our identity to security. In fact, Jack was supposed to come over for supper but due to the chaos we've decided it's better that we re-schedule for another day.

      Although the situation's much calmer now, the hard truth is a 22 year old is dead and another 22 year old is in police custody.

Bill Robertson