OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – A local mom who sought to connect with two strangers who helped protect her children during the recent shooting at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets says she was able to find them to express her gratitude.
“They’re so selfless, and they were willing to risk their own lives for my children that they didn’t even know,” Ashley Hilliard told Local 4 of the man and woman who helped her children, both of whom wished to remain anonymous. “There’s still good in this world. There’s still good people. And I’m sure they didn’t even think twice about stopping to help.”
Hilliard and her two daughters, 6-year-old Paisleigh and 4-year-old Blakeleigh, were at the mall for a “princess day” on Saturday, July 11, when a shooting inside the mall caused chaos and panic. Hilliard was having lunch with her family at HopCat when the gunfire rang out, and was unable to get to her girls after falling and getting trampled by patrons trying to flee the mall.
“I remember hearing someone say, ‘It’s okay, I have her,’ as they picked up my 6-year-old daughter and helped get her safely out,” she said. “As I was moving forward with the little one, some other guy picked her up and said I have her and then we were able to get out. My legs felt like cement.”
A 20-year-old man was killed in the shooting, which police say stemmed from an earlier argument at the mall and remains under investigation. A 19-year-old woman was also shot.
Read more: Oakland County Prosecutor reviews Great Lakes Crossing shooting amid self-defense questions
Weeks after the incident, Hilliard managed to connect with both individuals who assisted her family that day. After speaking with the woman on the phone for over an hour, Hilliard said she realized she helped even more than she initially thought.
“She said, ‘I was huddled over the girls,’” Hilliard said, describing how the woman crouched over the children to block them from getting tramped by frantic people.
Following the phone call, the woman agreed to meet Hilliard and her daughters for ice cream so they could thank her in person. The girls brought her flowers and balloons as a thank you, along with coloring pages they drew that said “Thank you.”
“Both girls said that they were so glad to have been able to meet her and thank her,” Hilliard told Local 4.
Not long after, Hilliard said they were able to connect with the man who helped them that day, adding that both she and her daughters were grateful they managed to find them both to thank them.
“In a frightening moment, they helped protect my children, and I will never forget that kindness,” Hilliard said.