Bradenton malls focus on safety after Al-Shabaab Mall of America threat

BRADENTON -- Pastor and Fry Guys Gourmet Fries business owner Terry Jones said he wasn't scared by a recent threat to shopping malls by terrorist group Al-Shabaab.

In a February video, a masked member of Al-Shabaab speculates about the effects of an attack on the Mall of America after the group shook Kenya in 2013 with a siege on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi.

"No, (I'm) not at all (scared)," Jones said. "This isn't my first rodeo."

Jones and his congregation, Dove World Outreach Center, began speaking out against radical Islam in 2009. He said though he's endured "hundreds" of death threats from various terrorist organizations and individuals, he hasn't changed his lifestyle because doing so would be "a victory" for terrorist groups.

Jones said he does take certain precautions, such as informing pertinent law enforcement agencies of intent to travel.

The death threats picked up speed after a 2010 event where Jones and his congregation burned a Quran, the holy scripture of Islam.

The FBI found no credible threat to the Mall of America, "but we will continue to work together at all levels to evaluate this and other information as it becomes available," the bureau said in a February statement.

Jones said if DeSoto Square mall, where he operates his business, were to be attacked, he would have mixed feelings about his responsibility for the attack.

"I don't really think (I would feel responsible); of course it's sort of a yes-and-no answer," Jones said. "Yeah, because of course if it was attacked because of me then of course I have some responsibility but on the same side I think we can't run and hide from our personal rights."

Morgan Byrd, assistant property manager of DeSoto Square mall, said she thinks Jones doesn't bring any danger to the mall.

"Terry has done absolutely nothing wrong as far as the mall is concerned," Byrd said. "(The company has) every right by law to keep him staffed. He's done nothing to be a blatant threat to any of us here."

Jones is No. 2 on a hit list that includes former Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier with a red X over Charbonnier, indicating his assassination. The editor of the French satirical magazine and 10 other staffers were killed in a January terrorist attack on the magazine's Paris office.

"(Jones) puts himself in a public place where people know where he works every day; he's not hiding," Byrd said. "If he believed he was in danger, I don't think he would be working at the same place on a daily basis."

Jones is also a candidate for the 2016 presidential election. He said despite the numerous death threats, the additional publicity from being a candidate doesn't bother him.

"I made that decision a long time ago, so in that sense I am willing to die for what I believe is the truth," Jones said.

Byrd said she could not discuss specific security procedures because if "any kind of bad entity has information regarding (our safety procedures), it won't be handled as effectively as otherwise."

Other Bradenton-area malls also could not discuss the details of security protocols for similar reasons, and managers and spokespeople emphasized the importance of shopper security.

"Center safety is our highest priority," Octavio Ortiz, general manager of The Mall at University Town Center, said in a statement. "We continuously partner with local and, when appropriate, federal law enforcement agencies regarding center security."

The International Council of Shopping Centers provided a statement about security concerns in response to the February Al-Shabaab video. ICSC provides public relations services to Simon Property Group, the parent company of Ellenton Premium Outlets.

"When it comes to protecting and securing a shopping center, many factors are taken into consideration and security plans and procedures are customized to each center's unique characteristics," the statement said. "In short, there is no-one-size fits all approach taken when it comes to developing and deploying a security program."

This story was originally published April 6, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton malls focus on safety after Al-Shabaab Mall of America threat."