Family recalls hiding behind clothes to survive Allen Outlets mass shooting
ALLEN, Texas - The tragedy of the Allen shooting extends beyond the families and friends of those who died and were injured.
There were hundreds of shoppers and employees escorted out by police with their arms up after being locked down, waiting for confirmation they were safe.
Two full days after the violence, the weight of that experience is coming to bear on many of them.
It's moments the Montez family won't forget after spending hours hiding after the shooting started and then sprinting full speed out of the Nike store. They shared it was faith that got them through.
Mom Sarah Montez is thankful for the lives of her fiancé and two young boys: 10-year-old Alex and 9-year-old Lorenzo.
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"While we were standing in line, me and my youngest. I heard everybody running. Then I heard everybody say there's a shooter," she recalled.
Sarah took a photo after making it out of the mass shooting alive, noting the matching stark white tennis shoes her family wore that day are unbloodied.
"I grabbed my youngest, and I threw him to the floor," she recalled. "And I made him go to the very back wall where the clothes were hanging from so he could be hidden, and I moved the clothes hanging so he could kind of be hidden."
They were hidden in the very back of the Nike store, safe away from the mass shooter who took the lives of eight people.
Sarah's fiancé, Scotty Montez, says he heard two gunshots and people running trying to get to safety.
"Immediately, we went down," he recalled. "I know a lot of times they have drills in these scenarios, and so I watched the workers as they ran in this certain area. So I just kind of followed them and went to the back."
The family says they can't thank the employees in the store enough for keeping them and others calm throughout the terrifying ordeal.
"She had red hair and was keeping everyone calm once we made it to the other side of the store to the break room. We were there for about two hours," Sarah recalled. "They said we could leave. Some people were walking around, but we honestly didn't know what the situation was. We heard rumors here and there he was dressed like a cop."
Meanwhile, Scotty says it was faith that kept his family from harm's way.
"I believe the Holy Spirit told me to look to the left, and it was weird," he said. "It wasn't like a thought or nothing. It was a push in my chest, kind of like a little shove that says looks to your left. I look to my left and see ‘kids’ in bold. And when I seen that, I said, ‘Okay, Lord. I'm going to be obedient.’"
The Montez family say it's everyday heroes that kept families like there’s calm despite the panic.
Meanwhile the memorial continues to grow outside of the mall. The artist behind the project said he hopes it helps the community to heal.