Shopping Centre Terror Guidance That Was Placed Next To Soft Play Area

INSTRUCTIONS of what to do in the event of a terrorist gun attack has been posted in a shopping centre – next to the soft play area.

The ‘Active Shooter Incident Guidance Notice’ runs through six steps that shop and restaurant workers should follow in case of an attack.

These include closing the shop, 'scooping up’ members of the public, evacuating- but only 'where possible’ – barricading access to your safe area, and remaining silent while waiting for help.

The internal memo was spotted on Monday by people using the soft play area of the Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, after it was printed out and stuck on a wall.

It reads: 'Active Shooter Incident Guidance Note.

'Actions: 1. Stop trading and close front doors/shutter - try and scoop as many public into your store as possible without trying to expose yourself to harm.

'2. Evacuate the building - if you feel it is safe to do so.

'If you cannot evacuate:

'3. Get to a safe area - if possible lock yourself in a 'safe staff area’ with shoppers that have been “scooped up”.

'4. Barricade access to your safe area - use anything to hand to block access and stay back from the door.

'5. Remain silent - set mobile phones to silent and try to keep persons with you calm and quiet.

'6. Wait for help - wait in silence until you can be sure the incident is over. Don’t respond to persons outside unless you know who they area.“

A footnote added: 'Recommended actions only. The retail must access individual risk and act accordingly based on events happening at the time.’

John Devoy, operations manager at the Mall at Cribbs Causeway, said there was no threat which sparked the advice and it was merely routine.

He said: 'The safety of our customers is our primary concern. As such, internal memos are sent to our retailers on an ongoing basis to ensure tenants are up to date on a range of processes from marketing to security.

'This is normal practice in shopping centre operations across the UK.

'One such internal memo was issued to all of The Mall’s tenants in February, guiding on how to respond to potential security threats, and we understand a copy was displayed in public view.

'We can confirm this memo was not issued in response to or in anticipation of any specific threat or risk - the document is a good practice guideline for our tenants only.’

The safety advice comes after unidentified gunmen attacked the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya killing 67 people in September 2013.

But that high-profile attack was not the only time violence has erupted among unsuspecting shoppers.

In March violence spilled over into the Fields shopping centre, Amager in Copenhagen, where three people were shot in a gunfight and in January a trail of blood was left through the Bedford Centre near Johannesburg, after a robbery went wrong.

Bristol was named the English city most at risk of a terrorist attack because of previous anarchist attacks on courts, police stations and communication masts.

Pictures courtesy of South West News