2 men shot in Vancouver mall thank bystanders for help, say they’re grateful to be alive
VANCOUVER Wash. (KPTV) – The two men injured in the shooting at the Vancouver Mall on Thursday are at home, recovering from their injuries.
“My girls were unharmed because of their dads, so that was the best thing I could’ve asked for,” said Micaela Martin.
Micaela Martin brought her family to the Vancouver Mall on Halloween, so her two young daughters could go trick-or-treating. Aside from her children, she was at the mall with her boyfriend, Brandon Leyrer and the father of her children, Daniel Martin.
After loading up on candy, the family decided to grab a bite to eat at the food court. Around 7:30 p.m., a string of gunshots broke out.
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Micaela Martin was across the food court when the shots broke out. While many people were running toward the exits, she immediately thought about trying to get her family out of danger.
“My first thought was, I can’t leave,” she said. “My whole world is on the other side of the cafeteria.”
Both men were injured in the shooting.
“They missed all the bones and everything, so thankfully there’s seemingly no permanent damage,” said Daniel Martin, who was shot in the foot. “It just hurts a lot.”
Brandon Leyrer was shot in the side, just below his ribs.
“They’re leaving the bullet in because it’s too dangerous to take it out,” Leyrer said.
Despite their injuries, both Leyrer and Daniel Martin are thankful they both made it out alive.
“That was a fear of mine,” Leyrer said. “Realizing that we were both hit and that we could both be gone and that Micaela could be left with no one. That scared me the entire time.”
Daniel Martin and Leyrer said law enforcement, mall security and other witnesses all helped with first aid as soon as possible. Daniel Martin, who works in the medical field, had help with applying a tourniquet to his leg to stop the bleeding. Leyrer, who was across the food court, had help from a witness.
“A military man, he had dog tags on, he took his shirt off and helped put pressure on my wound and stayed with me until the paramedics got there and I really appreciate that a lot,” Leyrer said. “Thank you.”
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Micaela Martin said she hopes to connect with other witnesses, to try and heal together.
“We’re better together and we’re better as a community,” she said. “It’s hard to go through something like this and just because I was so close doesn’t mean it wasn’t affecting everybody else who was involved. There were hundreds of people there.”
One person was killed in the shooting. Micaela Martin said her family watched the victim being shot multiple times, and her children, just 3 and 5 years old, have been traumatized.
Vancouver police arrested a suspect on Saturday, who was identified as 32-year-old Travis Ward. Ward was booked at the Clark County Jail and is facing one count of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault.
Ward is due in court at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
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