A bit later, he tweeted that he was, "Rattled right now."
On Sunday, before the Blue Jays hosted the Boston Red Sox, Lawrie said he had been in the food court about 10 seconds before the incident.
"It was instant panic," Lawrie told the Associated Press. "It was as if you stepped on an ant hill and then everyone just flooded out of the place ... I just got out of there as fast as possible. I was the first person out of there."
Lawrie said he turned to Twitter to warn others.
"I just thought I’d give it out there just to anybody that could have been in the mall or anybody that needed to get there ASAP, I thought I could give them a good piece of information," he said.
According to the Associated Press, police think the shooting may have been gang-related. Police said the dead man, 24-year-old Ahmed Hassan of Toronto, had gang affiliations and may have been the target. The others who were shot, including a 13-year-old boy who police said is in critical but stable condition, are believed to have been innocent bystanders.
No arrest has been made, but police said they have a suspect
As for Lawrie, he somehow managed to shake off the incident. On Sunday, he went 2-for-4, both singles, as the Blue Jays beat the Red Sox, 5-1.
Line of the day
Tip of the quill to CBS golf host Jim Nantz, who introduced Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus at the final round of the Memorial Tournament on Sunday by saying, "Between the three of us, 24 majors in all." n
Contact Tom Mahon at mahont@phillynews.com
