FORT MYERS, Fla. -- As staff at Chico’s FAS Headquarters found out about the active shooter threat taking place Thursday, an employee who was inside tells Fox 4 there were mixed emotions as information was unfolding.
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“Cold room, dark for two hours, on a concrete floor, so it was a pretty scary, surreal experience,” said Chico’s employee.
An unidentified employee of Chico’s headquarters in Fort Myers describes what happened shortly after 11 am Thursday morning.
“The Lee County Sheriff’s Office got a call about an active shooter,” said Sheriff Carmine Marceno, Lee County Sheriff's Office.
The call allegedly came from a security guard. Employees received notifications through texts, calls, and emails. “Through our emergency alert system, and it let us know there was a potential active shooter on campus and that we should stay inside the building,” said the Chico’s employee.
The company initiated a shelter in place for the more than 10 buildings on the campus, including the daycare facility. “Everyone was a little confused, but we did have some people in the building who knew what to do in an active shooter situation and what to do when we went into lockdown mode,” said the employee.
People on the outside were worrying about their loved ones, just the not knowing, has been very disconcerting, as soon as I found out, I rushed over here.
“After that two hour mark, we got a text, the campus had been searched, everyone was safe, that it was all clear, so we continued to go about the day,” said the employee.
But the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is still searching for answers, “our major crime unit and our detectives will investigate, will find out why that call was made, who was involved and all of the above,” said Sheriff Marceno.
