Collinsville City Manager Was Inside Allen, Texas, Outlet Mall Store During Mass Shooting

Collinsville city manager Pam Polk and her granddaughter were inside of a store at the Allen, TX outlet mall when a gunman opened fire last Saturday.

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Polk said a fun day of shopping quickly turned into fearing for their lives.

“Lots of people started running in the store we were in,” said Polk. “I said ‘what is happening?’ and this woman said ‘there’s a shooter!'”

Polk said her family traveled to Allen from Durant. They had been to the mall before and expected a normal day of shopping.

“It was really packed that day,” said Polk. “It was a beautiful day, there were just a lot of families out.”

They first stopped to eat at a restaurant inside of the mall. Just 20 minutes after they finished, police shot and killed the gunman outside that same restaurant.

“We turned and went left and started walking,” said Polk. “If we had turned right, we would have been right in the mix of the shooting because we were that close.”

Polk and her granddaughter hid in the dressing room of the store they were in. They stayed there, trying to keep quiet, until police cleared the store and told everyone to run.

She said these types of stories are on the news all too often but she never expected to be a part of something like this.

She said the last two days have been weighing on her and she plans to talk with a counselor.