Members of the New York Giants, as well as their radio broadcast team, were present during the shooting at the Mall of America last Friday.
Bob Papa and Howard Cross, the Giants’ announcers on WFAN, along with Giants.com writer John Schmeelk, were at the Twin Cities Grill in the mall before the restaurant suddenly filled up, Papa told WFAN’s morning show. «Boomer and Gio» on Friday.
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MetLife Stadium during the first quarter of the game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys on January 3, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
(Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
A waitress told Dad that there had been a shooting and that the mall was closed. Dad added that he wasn’t sure if it was due to a mass shooting or an «isolated incident,» but his partner Cross, also a former Giant, had a plan.
«There was no way out. We had just finished our meal, they were starting to clear the table, and Cross said, ‘I’ll take the steak knife.'» dad said. «So we grabbed that, and then he started figuring out which tables we were going to turn around and stay behind. And then I noticed there was this little server at the back of the restaurant in this little room with benches and things in front of him. I’m like, ‘Cross , I’m crawling there'».
Dad added, «It was pretty tense for a while» and «it was pretty scary for about an hour until we got out of there.»
MULTIPLE NEW YORK GIANTS PLAYERS INSIDE MINNESOTA’S MALL OF AMERICA DURING FATAL SHOOTING: REPORT
The shooting left a 19-year-old dead in the largest shopping center in the United States, according to the police. It was the third shooting at the mall this year, and three people have been charged in connection with the shooting.
The Giants were staying at a nearby hotel, and several players, as well as general manager Joe Schoen, walked in sometime before the shooting began, a team spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press.
Officials close off the West Wing of the Mall of America after a shooting was reported on Friday, December 23, 2022, in Bloomington, Minnesota. A shooting caused the closure of the Mall of America on Friday night, mall officials and police in suburban Minneapolis said.
(Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP))
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The Giants lost their game to the Minnesota Vikings the next day, 27–24, after Greg Joseph’s 61-yard field goal.