On November 28th, Thanksgiving night, customers at the Fremont Hub Shopping Center were doing some early Black Friday shopping but were instead met with an alarming situation. At around 11:40 pm, customers were finishing up their shopping as the store was about to come to a close. Security said they noticed a group of five teenagers, ages 17-19, loading multiple PS4 consoles and other valuable items into their cart. When the group walked past the registers and out of the store without paying, security confronted them outside. As security tried to stop the burglary, a getaway car pulled up and the passenger fired two gunshots in the air. The suspects then grabbed a PS4 console and all five teenagers got into the getaway car. A witness was able to recall which direction the suspects went, and the pursuit began. The police identified them on Mowry Avenue and Glenview Drive, but the car refused to stop. Three minutes later, the car was chased down. One suspect tried to escape but was caught and arrested. A loaded gun and the PS4 were both recovered from the vehicle and the five teenagers were taken into custody. Unfortunately, some of our fellow Huskies were present during this chain of events.
Manomay Dixit ‘20 , was shopping with family when he heard the shots. “Right as I heard the gunshots, I located an exit and yelled at everyone to get out. I’ve heard gunshots before and I knew what the sound was right as I heard it.” Manomay was able to get out of the store quickly and safely. “People take discount shopping too far. Thankfully, I’m the type of person that doesn’t get shaken up by that type of thing, and I actually returned to the store the next day to do some more shopping.”
April Kostecka ‘21 , works as a cashier at this Target in the Hub. Due to the law against minors working late and closing hours, she luckily was not present during the encounter. “I didn’t work late that night but I have an older brother in college who did. It’s terrifying that someone so close to me was around when something like that happened. It could have been fatal, but I’m so glad it wasn’t.” April’s brother is doing fine after the incident.
This frightening incident says something bigger about the society we live in today. When we see yet another school shooting or massacre on TV, it’s easy to post “they’re in my thoughts and prayers” on social media, brush it off, and move on. However, when it’s in your own town, right in your face, it gives you a new perspective. Athena Pandya ‘20 , left the store just minutes before the incident broke out, and said, “It’s honestly scary how close to home this hits. You always see things like this on the news and think ‘that won’t happen in my town’ and then it does.”
As alarming this turn of events was, it gives Fremont residents the wake up call to be aware of their surroundings, listen to their gut, and stay safe.
This reporter graduated in 2020.
Brooke Matré is a senior. She grew up in Newark, California and later moved to Fremont. This is her first year writing for the Hatchet. Brooke is also co-editor in chief of the Washington High School yearbook. She has a huge passion for journalism, as she spends her free time writing. When she's not writing, she's probably hanging out with family or friends, listening to music, or working at her job at the movie theater. She hopes to pursue a Journalism degree at Northern Arizona University.