"Trolley Square is and has been such a special place, way beyond a shopping center," Hunt said. "Our long-term commitment (to the mall and the redevelopment) hasn't changed. But our focus right now is to do what we can to treat those who were victimized and traumatized with all the dignity and respect that they deserve, and to handle it with great care."

Nick West, president of the Trolley Square Merchants Association, said many of the group's 50-odd members remain shaken.

"They're like family, and this was such a shock," West said. West owned Holidays At Home, which left Trolley Square in December. Its space is now occupied by Brass Key Antiques on the upper level of the mall.

"Trolley Square was our second home for quite a long time while we had a store there, and we frequently visit and interact with the merchants at the mall," West said. "Though I can't speak for them personally, I'd think that they're comprehending how close it came, and how easily they could have been victims themselves."

Sean Van Wagonen, a 24-year old University of Utah student, works as a server at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Van Wagonen was at work Monday and escaped out the back of the restaurant when the shooting began. On Tuesday he returned to reclaim his wallet and car, worried both about the fate of Trolley Square and about keeping his job.

"You just don't know how many people are going to want to come back," Van Wagonen said. "If people don't come back and eat, I'm going to have to find another job."

Jackson also is contemplating her future. The Next Big Thing, which specializes in unique gifts for people and pets, has called Trolley Square home for more than three years. But her lease is up at the end of the month, and though she has an option to extend her current lease or expand to another location at the mall, she's hesitant.

"I have the option of staying," she said and then paused. "But ... this just changes everything. Hopefully I'll be able to make a decision that isn't based too much on emotion."

She's hesitant to ask her employees to come back to work. She wonders how the mall, its tenants and customers will heal. She worries what it all means and how to make sense of it.

"I really don't know what to do at this point," she said. "The fact that my son-in-law — he and my daughter have only been married for six months — the fact that he came within probably a glance of an eye of possibly being killed or wounded is just sickening to me."

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Contributing: Leigh Dethman

E-mail: jnii@desnews.com