Students in Iowa City’s Pedestrian Mall said they heard gunshots early Sunday and ran for safety as police responded to a report of a fight at 1:46 a.m. Sunday. University of Iowa sophomore Ellie Mangold said she was about 100 feet from the shots when the scene erupted around her.
“I heard the four gunshots, and I talked to my friend and was like, ‘Was that gunshots?’” Mangold said. “We hear people screaming, I look back, everyone starts running. So we were just like, we gotta move now. We got to get out of here.”
Mangold and her friends were walking around after a Saturday night out when the shooting happened. She called seeing it unfold “insane,” and said, “We were just like walking around, and I had no idea because usually I feel really safe in this town.”
University of Iowa junior Jade Huaracha said she and a friend were caught in the middle of the crowd as the situation escalated. “We were walking, and we were actually in the middle of the group as everything started breaking out,” she said. “I just grab her hand, and we get out of that little ball of people that are starting to form.”
Huaracha said going back to the Ped Mall was unsettling and that it was her first time back there since the shooting. She said her hands were “literally shaking” as she got ready to return. Both students said they were thankful the university sent out Hawk Alerts to warn people about what was happening.
Police are still seeking information about the shooting and urged anyone with details to call 356-5275. The Ped Mall is a place where students were walking around after a Saturday night out, and the university’s alert system became the fastest way to tell them the danger was real. For Mangold and Huaracha, the answer to whether the moment was serious came in the sound of four gunshots and the rush to get out.
