Bike rides and Gang Fights

Today started out as a wonderful day. Adelaide and I got SO MUCH done! We picked up some dental x-rays, went to the nursery to get bamboo for our peas to grow up, went to the grocery store and also had lunch there, and then went to Target to get some things we needed for the house.
After Adelaide's nap my old friend Shannon came over and Adelaide, she and I rode our biked down to Alberta st. for lunch. It was a nice long ride and so sunny out. There weren't a lot of people around which was surprising considering that it's spring break. It was just perfect. Adelaide loved the bike ride and the weather couldn't have been better.
When we got back Shannon wanted me to go with her to the mall to pick out sunglasses. I left Adelaide home with Myles having no idea what was going to happen while we were gone.

We spent about an hour in Nordstroms trying on sunglasses and goofing around. Shannon wasn't sure she liked any of them so we decided to try Macy's. As we walked through Macy's in the mall we were suddenly bombarded from behind with a bunch of noisy teenagers running and yelling. At first I just thought they were being extremely rude and wasn't sure what was happening. It was very noisy and chaotic. Suddenly a whole pack of police men came charging in our direction, clearly towards the group of kids and started yelling at everyone to "get on the ground". One kid took off running....and at this point all I could think about was that Adelaide was at home and needed her mummy and I didn't want to die this way. I know that sounds so dramatic and crazy...but I seriously thought that there was going to be a shoot out between the gangster kids and the cops. One of the cops yelled "he's got a gun" at some point. I just wanted to get out of there. Shannon and I high tailed it towards the exit...I think my body just took over. I remember looking for a place to hide from bullets...but how do I know what is bullet proof? Could a bullet go through the counter? How about a post with mirrors on it?
The part that disturbed me the most is that we were watching the little kids have their ice skating lessons on the rink in the mall, and as we exited, I heard the loud speaker telling everyone to get off of the ice asap. How scary for those little kids!!!! And what if one of them caught a stray bullet?
Apparently there was a gang fight outside of the Foot Locker (go figure!) One of the kids pulled out his gun and fired, and then another fired his twice. What a bunch of DUMB PEOPLE. Nobody was hit, not even the intended person, but still - in the mall??? How careless can people be?
The whole thing was just a huge remider about how fast things can happen. It also makes me reconsider this city that I live in. I know these things can happen anywhere, and I can't live my life being afraid of such things. But it was scarry. I cried when we got out of Macey's and just wanted to rush home and be with Adelaide and Myles. I felt so vulnerable there. I think I looked crazy to my friend Shannon, but I guess there is just something that becomes different once you have a baby.