Westgate Mall Attack

Masked gunmen stormed into a crowded mall in Nairobi and shot dead 67 people and wounded more than 175 in one of the most chilling terrorist attacks in East Africa since Al Qaeda blew up two American embassies in 1998. Parents hurled their bodies over their children, people jumped into ventilation shafts to save themselves, and shoppers huddled behind the plastic mannequins of designer clothing stores as two squads of gunmen linked to a Somali terrorist group Al-Shabab moved through the mall, shooting shoppers as they tried to flee. Hours later, the mall’s gleaming floors were smeared with blood as police officers dashed through the corpse-strewn corridors, trying to find the assailants. Westgate Mall is a symbol of Kenya’s rising prosperity, an impressive five-story building where Kenyans can buy expensive cups of frozen yogurt and plates of sushi. On Saturday, September 21 it was especially crowded when the attackers stormed the mall.