BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota — The Mall of America is taking a big step to improve safety and the city of Bloomington is doing its part.
WCCO has obtained documents outlining plans to add gunfire geolocation technology.
Since shots were fired inside, Christmas Eve In 2022 the shopping center implemented facial recognition to scan for people who are interesting and experimented with metal detectors.
The sensors for detecting gunshots are better known as ShotSpotter technology, but it’s unclear whether Mall of America will partner with the company that makes ShotSpotter.
City of Bloomington documents say, “By 2024, [MOA] plans to implement a system that can immediately detect and locate a serious incident involving a gunshot.”
In a contract between the mall and the technology provider, it’s described as “detection hardware that monitors whether a shooting has occurred at the location, alerts police and supports building lockdown procedures.”
The company name on the contract has been redacted for privacy reasons.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said the department supports adding the technology so they can “apprehend criminals faster than if the technology were not used.”
Earlier this year, the city agreed to reimburse the Mall of America for up to $1.4 million of the costs.
The mall did not immediately respond to WCCO’s requests for comment, and it is unclear when the technology will be available.
A teenager died in the 2022 shootingTwo people were sentenced to decades in prison before killing.
Shotspotter’s website states that more than 150 cities use the technology.
Minneapolis has been using it for years. But the technology has critics who say it is ineffective and even harmful.
Cities like Seattle and Atlanta have chosen not to use it, and Chicago will end the program this month.
David Schuman
