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Teenager captures footage from inside Boise mall shooting

An Ada County teenager captured video from inside the Boise Towne Square mall on Monday, where a deadly shooting that took the lives of two people and injured four others occurred.

Xavier Lugo, 17, was with two of his friends talking outside of the Boise Barter Market when they heard four or five loud bangs ring through the mall.

“As soon as I heard the shots, I knew they were gunshots,” Lugo said.

When four or five more bangs echoed, Lugo and his friends knew they needed to hide, he said.

The three along with other bystanders rushed into the market, closed the gate and proceeded to a backroom. They quickly barricaded themselves in and called the police.

“In the moment I was more calm than I was scared,” he said.

After around 20 minutes had passed, they peeked out of the store and saw people making their way to the exit. According to Lugo, they all made a run for it, and were greeted by a large police force outside.

“I had never seen so many cops in one area ever in Idaho,” he said.

Lugo and his friends were safe.

Later, as his adrenaline subsided, he heard that the shooting happened right by Macy’s, which is located right below where he had been hiding. Lugo says he feels lucky that he and his friends escaped unharmed.

“Wow, I was right next to that, that could’ve been me,” he said.

The Ada County Coroner’s Office said in a news release Monday that it was responding to the situation and expected to have updates on Tuesday.