Taking a group photo during a moment of crisis is the last thing on people's minds.
Or so you might think.
When the Mall of America went on lockdown due to an "isolated" shooting incident inside the mega shopping center tourist attraction in Bloomington, Minnesota, a group of people thought it was a good time to snap a photo of themselves despite the possibility of an armed gunman being on the loose.
Maya Afi–TikToker @insuredbyaflak–filmed and posted a video of herself among a crowd of people apparently in lockdown inside a utility corridor with steel fences.
She panned the camera over to a group of people who were archiving the situation by posing for a man taking a photo.
“Nah, there was a shooter at The Mall of America and they decided to take a family photo,” read the text overlay in the clip, with the caption, “Lockdown photoshoot.”
CBS News reported that the Mall of America did go on lockdown last Thursday after shots were fired during an altercation between two groups of people near cash registers inside the Nike store.
According to Bloomington Police chief Booker Hodges, one of the groups left the store but returned moments later.
One person fired three shots into the store.
There were no reports of any injuries.
The clip Afi posted of the family photo op that allegedly took place during the shooting left TikTokers speechless about the questionable time and place.
They filled the comment section with sarcasm, because what else was there to say?
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
Others tried to make sense of what was actually happening.
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
@insuredbyaflak/TikTok
The criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County indicated the alleged shooter was identified as 21-year-old Shamar Lark, who is being sought "on suspicion of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, intentional discharge of a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit in a public place."
Lark's alleged accomplice was revealed to be 23-year-old Rashad May, who is "being sought on suspicion of aiding an offender to avoid arrest," according to court documents.
Lark and May allegedly lost a fight involving multiple people in the store.
During a briefing, Hodges said May told Lark to shoot up the store when they returned, which is when the three shots were fired in the crowded store.
Both men fled the scene thereafter.
Three suspects who helped the suspects flee authorities were arrested and each was charged with one count of aiding an offender to avoid arrest.
The Daily Dot, which reported on the TikToker who filmed the photo op, was unable to confirm if the family photo was taken during the reported shooting since the media outlet did not hear back from either the mall's press team or from Afi after reaching out.
