Shooting at Allen Outlet Hits Close to Home for Amarillo Family

Sometimes there are bigger things going on in life that keep you safe. You don't know it at the time. Sometimes you see what could have been and sometimes you don't.

On Saturday my daughter and I were following the Allen situation pretty closely. There was an active shooter and in the end, eight people were dead and several injuries. The gunman was also killed by police.

Those outlets we have been to several times. We would take a detour home after a volleyball tournament just so we could stop by that outdoor mall and do some shopping.

When my daughter moved to Plano it was less than ten miles from her house so the shooting that happened there on Saturday hit close to home but then it hit even closer.

A friend of ours, Aspen Brandvik, was there when the shooting took place. Her story was very scary but also a reminder that sometimes being stubborn pays off. Aspen and her husband Brayden were in the area over the weekend. Brayden had a test for work and they decided to make a weekend out of the trip from Amarillo. They wanted to celebrate their anniversary.

They took a trip out to the Allen Premium Outlets. They do have great shopping. I so get it. Faith and Aspen played club volleyball together for many years. So seeing her story really made this real. We can follow a mass shooting like this in the news but actually knowing someone makes it so much more real and definitely scary.

Looking back those Crocs saved my friend and her husband. They were able to head back to Amarillo where their boys were waiting for them. It scares me to think what could have been if she had not insisted on looking at those Croc pins. If you know Aspen you know she is stubborn and we are thrilled that she is.

It’s still honestly just so surreal. You hear about this happening but never expect to be right in the middle of it. And then just to think it happened right where we were parked and should have been at that time had we not got caught up looking at croc pins. All of it is still just shocking, sad and we still can’t believe all that we saw - Aspen

A matter of minutes kept Aspen and Brayden safe and headed back to Amarillo after their scary situation minutes away from the shooter at the Allen Premium Outlets.