Shoppers evacuate with their hands in the air after a reported shooting at Fashion Place Mall in Murray on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
MURRAY — People rushed to the aid of the victims in the Fashion Place Mall shooting as soon as they were hit. One man made a makeshift tourniquet with his belt while others rendered first aid until the ambulances arrived.
Matthew Thomas ran away when he heard the shots Sunday, but quickly returned and saw a man and woman lying outside the Dillard’s. He held their hands and kept talking to them to keep them conscious.
Thomas says he’s not a hero and was only doing what he would want someone to do for him in a similar situation.
Police say Sunday’s shooting started with an argument between rival gangs inside before the victims were struck outside the department store.