LONGVIEW, Wash. -- A Longview family that was in Seattle over the weekend came within feet of a gunman who opened fire inside a crowded shopping mall.

The family said the safety of their daughter, who was recruited to play softball at the University of Washington next year, was their biggest concern as shots rang out inside the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila.

Baily Harris, 17, of R.A. Long High School was on a trip to visit the University of Washington where she had been recruited to play college softball, but for a few moments on Saturday, all she and her family could think about was keeping out of the sights of a gunman.

Baily's mother, Sue, said the family was eating lunch at the mall's food court about 50 to 60 feet away from the gunman when he opened fire.

"At first it sounded like a balloon, but that was the loudest balloon ever, and then as the second shot rang out I knew it was a gunshot. We hit the deck," Sue Harris said.

Sue Harris said her first thought was to protect Baily.

"I just pushed her down, threw myself over her," Sue Harris said.

The Harrises said the Southcenter Mall erupted into chaos. Sue and Baily got separated from Baily's father as people turned over chairs and tables, screamed and cried as they tried to protect themselves from the gunman.

"I just kept thinking of Columbine High School where there was that group shooting," Sue Harris said.

The shooting left a 16-year-old dead and another teen badly wounded, but the Harrises emerged from the mayhem OK and thankful no one else got hurt.

"I think we just looked at each other and said, 'Wow. We survived that,'" Sue Harris said.

On Monday afternoon, Baily Harris signed her letter of intent to play for the University of Washington.

The gunman who opened fire at the mall in Tukwila still hasn't been caught.

Local Family Narrowly Escapes Mall Shooting