It’s been 10 days since a gunman killed eight people, and then himself, inside a mall department store in Omaha. The Westroads Mall re-opened one week ago today. Mall manager Jim Sadler says a makeshift memorial outside the Von Maur store will eventually be replaced.
"There will be some sort of permanent memorial within the store," Sadler says, "and I know that my company, that owns Westroads, is considering some type of permanent memorial within the mall itself." It’s been an emotional and difficult time for employees of the mall, but Sadler says they’ve received messages and signs of support from all over the country.
He says one of the recent highlights involved a visit from the University of Nebraska football team, "They brought us a Nebraska flag that they all signed, so that was very touching." Omaha Police turned the Von Maur store back over to the company last Friday morning, but Von Maur has not announced a date for a reopening. Sadler says the first people to know will be the families of the victims.