VANCOUVER Washington (KPTV) – The two men injured in shooting at Vancouver mall Thursday are at home recovering from their injuries.

“My daughters weren’t hurt because of their dads, so it was the best thing I could have asked for,” Micaela Martin said.

Micaela Martin brought her family to the Vancouver mall on Halloween so her two young daughters could have a party. Besides her children, she was at the mall with her boyfriend, Brandon Leyrer, and her children’s father, Daniel Martin.

After stocking up on candy, the family decided to grab a bite to eat at the food court. Around 7:30 p.m., a series of shots rang out.

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Micaela Martin was on the other side of the food court when the shots rang out. As many people ran for the exits, she immediately thought about getting her family out of danger.

“My first thought was: I can’t leave,” she said. “My whole world is on the other side of the cafeteria.”

Both men were shot and injured.

“They missed all the bones and everything, so luckily there’s apparently no permanent damage,” said Daniel Martin, who was shot in the foot. “It just hurts a lot.”

Brandon Leyrer was shot in the side, just below the ribs.

“They leave the ball because it’s too dangerous to remove it,” Leyrer said.

Despite their injuries, Leyrer and Daniel Martin are grateful that they both made it out alive.

“That was a fear of mine,” Leyrer said. “Realizing that we were both affected and that we could both leave and that Micaela could be left without anyone. It scared me all the time.

Daniel Martin and Leyrer said law enforcement, mall security and other witnesses all rendered first aid as soon as possible. Daniel Martin, who works in the medical field, had help put a tourniquet on his leg to stop the bleeding. Leyrer, who was on the other side of the food court, had help from a witness.

“He was a military man, he wore dog tags, he took off his shirt and helped put pressure on my wound and stayed with me until the paramedics arrived and I really appreciate that.” , Leyrer said. “THANKS.”

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Micaela Martin said she hopes to connect with other witnesses, to try to heal together.

“We are better together and we are better as a community,” she said. “It’s hard to go through something like that and just because I was so close doesn’t mean it didn’t affect everyone else involved. There were hundreds of people.”

One person was killed in the shooting. Micaela Martin said her family saw the victim shot multiple times and her children, aged just 3 and 5, were traumatized.

Micaela Martin started a GoFundMe to raise money to help pay for therapy, medical bills and living expenses.

Vancouver police arrested a suspect Saturday, identified as 32-year-old Travis Ward. Ward was booked into the Clark County Jail and faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault.

Ward is scheduled to appear in court Monday at 1:30 p.m.

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