VANCOUVER, Wash. (KATU) – A Washington state teenager is being praised for helping protect others during a Halloween shooting at a mall.

While working behind the counter at an escape room, Bronwyn Cruden, 16, rushed to the store’s glass door to lock it after hearing the sound of gunshots.

In surveillance video of the incident, Cruden is seen locking the door as frightened people run outside the door looking for shelter.

As Cruden walked to the back of the store, a family appeared at the door, trying to get inside.

Cruden then heroically turned around to unlock the door and help the family seek shelter.

“I don’t know if I would call myself a hero, that’s for sure,” she said.

But when given the option to shelter in place or help protect others, the teen didn’t hesitate.

The stories that emerged from the Vancouver mall shootings show the lengths people are willing to go to flee danger.

A man jumped from the second floor to the first floor just to escape.

“I was so panicked that first I started hanging on and then I kind of jumped up and started running,” he said. “I had too much adrenaline so I didn’t really feel anything. I just started running.

Brianne Stoner knows this feeling too. She was trying to take her niece away to pass her off as a treat when she saw a rush of people running towards them.

“A lot of terrified mothers are dragging their children with them, and all I think is we have to run,” she said.

Stoner took her family and hid behind the mall, running across the parking lot and looking to hide in the bushes.

She said a resident of one of the neighboring apartments gave them access through a gated area, where they remained until they were safe.

Everyone was just grateful to have made it out alive.

Copyright 2024 KATE via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.