Around 7:30 p.m. m., OPD tweeted that there was “a significant active police presence near the Westroads Mall,” advising the public to stay away from the area.

About half an hour later, OPD tweeted that there was no threat at the mall. Four minutes later, they tweeted that someone had been arrested.

Westroads Mall was designed by real estate developer John Wiebe and opened in 1967. In 1977, Prudential Financial purchased the mall from Wiebe for $45 million. In 1997, General Growth Properties acquired the shopping center from Prudential Financial. The mall is jointly owned by General Growth (51 percent) and Canadian real estate development company Ivanhoe Cambridge (49 percent); it is managed by General Growth Properties on behalf of the joint venture. On April 5, 2012, General Growth Properties acquired the previously unowned 49 percent.

The mall underwent several renovations in 1990, 1995, 1999, and 2003, and again in 2013-2014, which included the addition of H&M stores and Wi-Fi.

In May 1991, the food court opened; in 2015, it was succeeded by Flagship Commons, a food court concept located in another part of the mall, operated by the Flagship Restaurant Group. In October 2016, The Container Store opened in the former food court.