By many accounts, Monday was a normal shopping day across the south suburbs and Northwest Indiana. But Saturday's shooting at a Tinley Park retail store didn't go unnoticed.

An official with the company that owns Merrillville's Century Plaza may have summed it up best.

"This definitely concerns us," said Jeff Koenig, the manager of operations for Westchester, Ill.-based Tri-land Properties. "Security is a very difficult property management item to address."

As police on Monday continued to search for the man suspected of shooting six women -- five fatally -- at the Lane Bryant clothing store, the franchise's Calumet City location remained closed. A sign posted behind a metal security gate explained that it was closed "in respect of the tragedy."

While retail employees referred questions to corporate officials, Tri-land's Koenig and Matt Riek, the general manager for Westfield Southlake mall in Hobart, shared some of their security measures.

Westfield Southlake employs a private security company, and the Hobart Police Department has a satellite station in the mall.

At Century Plaza, closed-circuit television offers mall stores security, while a private security company patrols the shopping area, Koenig said. Lighting in the parking lot also offers a deterrent, he said.

"We also advise our tenants to put in an indoor security camera system," Koenig said. "You try to be prepared. You never know what's going to happen or when."

That fact challenges law enforcement agencies, which no matter the size, can't support a force that places officers near every major business.

"For something like this, you can't say every store is a target. But every store might be," Lansing police Lt. Pete Grutzius said, adding customers and employees need to listen to their instincts rather than "wait and see."

"I would rather our guys respond to (a false alarm) than respond to something like the Tinley Park officers had to," he said.

Portage police Sgt. Keith Hughes said surveillance cameras are common on the properties of local stores, and police routinely run patrols of local strip mall parking lots.

The same can be said in Calumet City at the River Oaks Center, where private security and police officers work together.

"We have officers that patrol the mall specifically," Calumet City police Cpt. Dan Zorzi said. "That's their area of assignment. We do have a response plan and are able to handle anything that may come up out there."

In an e-mail, Kimberly Mans, River Oaks Center marketing manager, said specific security measures have to be kept confidential.

"We have and will continue to take the necessary steps to help ensure a safe and secure shopping environment here at our mall," she said.

Across from River Oaks, Lansing resident Marija Skelin said Saturday's shooting didn't factor into her decision to go shopping.

But, she said, shopping areas could do a better job with security in general.

"You don't see them except driving in the parking lot or at the doorway when you walk in," she said. "What can you do? There are crazy people everywhere."

Staff writer Carmen McCollum, correspondent Heather Augustyn and Illinois Editor Chris Keller contributed to this report.