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A video on Twitter shows a car driving through a mall, but it isn't the Mall of America, despite claims otherwise. The video, posted by @abebogale, is actually of Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, and it's not exactly recent news.
It appears the Twitter user, @abebogale, was trying to connect the 2019 video to protests breaking out in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd's death. The black man was killed by a police officer who pinned Floyd's neck to the ground during a handcuffing. The officer ignored Floyd saying that he couldn't breathe, which was captured on video. Floyd was pronounced dead shortly after.
Some of the protests have turned violent, and rioting and looting have sparked from the initial meetings.
A Snapchat-inspired line of text on the video reads "Like no need for al [sic] of this be focused on the main thing which is protesting this is not protesting this is reckless living." This did not appear on the video when it was first posted in September.
Bots are apparently making up a story that there is looting going on at Mall of America ... at 4:22 AM when all riots start? It's being pinned to an old video of a car driving through a mall in Chicago. This is trending on @twitter right. Ah, look, it's noon in Moscow.
— David B. Larter (@DavidLarter) May 28, 2020
The Twitter user appeared to mislead internet users with their caption of the once-viral video, too. "rip to mall of america," @abebogale wrote. "they're already $1.5 billion behind on their mortgage bills."
But Twitter wasn't fooled. Commenters immediately recognized the video from September 2019, when a SUV plowed through the Illinois mall.
Some were quick to point out that the mall hasn't even been open in some time, due to coronavirus. The Mall of America will reopen on June 1, according to its website, and the SUV video clearly shows mall-goers running from the car.
This is NOT the Mall of America. That mall is closed until further notice. This is an old video from Chicago area.
— JanScholl (@JanScholl) May 28, 2020
Literally, my cousin was in the mall when this happened, like it was last year smh
— ð’ƒð’“ð’†ð’ð’…ð’‚👼🼠ᵇˡᵠ(@iluvaddisonrae) May 28, 2020
That's not the Mall of America, it has 3-4 levels, that one looks like it only has 2
— Link01 (@Link01T) May 28, 2020
So what really happened when the car drove through Woodfield Mall? The initial event made national headlines when the driver was charged with terrorism shortly after the attack. No one was harmed when the car sped through the mall, but the video shows incredible damage.
The driver was a 22-year-old named Javier Garcia, and he was not linked to any terrorist group. USA Today revealed he'd acted alone, and the decision to drive his car through the mall didn't seem to be linked to any particular motive. "Police have no reason to believe Garcia was targeting any specific person or store within Sears or Woodfield Mall," a statement from police read.
The only thing true about @abebogale's post is that the Mall of America has apparently fallen behind on mortgage payments. This was revealed by Trepp, a research firm knowledgeable on commercial mortgages. The company claimed Mall of America is two months behind on its mortgage, which is $1.4 billion.
The Mall of America has not confirmed this and did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for confirmation.
About the writer
Kelly started a career in journalism after completing her education at The New School in New York City. She currently ... Read more