Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — With the holidays approaching, so is holiday shopping, which means an increase in visitors at Destiny USA Mall. A big concern is visitor security, and the Syracuse Police Department will be adding extra security, according to Lt. Matthew Malinowski.
As a freshman back in 2022, Ben Freedman, now a junior at Syracuse University, was watching a movie at the Regal Cinema in the mall when police say someone with a gun entered. He said his friends messaged him asking if he was ok, with two of his friends hearing gunshots from the food court. He also would have liked better communication from officials regarding the shooting, rather than finding out from texts and social media.
“We didn’t realize that they were starting to evacuate people until we decided to walk out of the theater ourselves,” Freedman said.
Freedman struggled to return to the mall in the time following the incident. He said that walking into the mall and seeing security guards as the first line of defense makes him feel much safer.
“I think it’s a more the merrier type of situation, you can never have too much protection, you can never have too much security,” Freedman said. “I think for a mall as large as Destiny and just how many shoppers they get on a daily basis, it can only be a good thing to have as many protective measures as possible.”
Malinowski said that Destiny has had a partnership with the Syracuse Police Department for years. He also said that the measures include bike patrol and new security cameras. Statistically, mall visitors have a small chance of being the victim of a crime, according to Malinowski. He continued, saying that they hope to make visitors feel safer entering the mall.
“We’re trying to reflect the number that could actually happen to you and we want that feeling to be the same,” Malinowski said. “So that increased presence, the bike patrol, seeing more cops, seeing more security, seeing more cameras will match up the feeling of security with the reality of it.”
Malinowski said that since the bikes are larger and faster than officers on foot, they will help combat juvenile crimes. He cited juveniles as one of the department’s biggest struggles, as they have contributed the most to fights, disturbances, and larcenies.
Malinowski suggested that all shoppers do their part in keeping themselves from becoming victims of crimes. That includes locking your car and making sure all valuables are hidden from plain sight are preventative measures that visitors can take to prevent being victims of crimes.
