day is, at least the boys and i will have each other if it turns out worse than we would hope or imagine. reporter: his wife, catherine, was still trapped under that tiny table with her three girls and now things were looking worse. a man with a gun was headed their way. coming up, just who was he? and then a daring escape plan from an unlikely hero. and then i told the lady, now. what happened next amazed the world. when dateline continues. new emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn t love a good throwback? [sfx: video game sound]
is licensed to carry a gun decided in an instant to join them. they entered the mall from the parking garage on the top floor. abdul s brother was still in the mall and not far from catherine walton and her girls on the main floor. he was hiding in a bathroom. abdul worked his way down to the main floor, and as he did, his brother managed to escape. i reached my phone, tried to call him and i see this message on my screen saying, i m out. i m safe. please come out. reporter: but abdul didn t come out. despite the gruesome scene, the blood, the bodies, the smell of smoke and constant gunfire, he decided to stay and help. abdul searched through the mall looking for victims then he made a discovery that shocked him. i looked down and i see somebody hiding behind a table. it was a lady. she looked very scared. and i m thinking, she was right in the middle of the cross fire.
and now there were gunmen headed towards catherine s sons. faith was the other mother trapped in this nightmare. she had her two young children with her and was worried about controlling her toddler son. they heard gunfire all around them. i feel bad right now because i was laying on him trying to shield him and i said, oh, my goodness lying on this floor and i m pressing down on his back, he must be so uncomfortable. at that point that is when i put my fingers in his mouth hoping to give him something to suck on. reporter: they remained like this, frozen in place for minutes, and then for an hour. she was terrified her son would start crying and give them away. i can see his face, you know, creasing into a cry, and i know, my goodness, he s going to cry. this is it. coming up, faith makes a fateful choice. i thought now our cover has
they all continue to try to heal. for now let s go back to dateline. gunmen had taken over the westgate mall hello and welcome back to dateline. i m craig melvin. gunmen had taken over the westgate mall in the kenyan capital, and they were patrolling the building, searching for victims. the two mothers both hiding with their children were hoping that their time was not running out. here s kate snow. for 3 1/2 hours after armed gunmen stormed the westgate mall, two mothers had been trapped. catherine walton crouched for cover with three young daughters under a temporary kiosk with gunmen patrolling nearby. and faith and her two young children played dead all that time. they moved once and were instantly shot at. as a man approached them, faith held her position, but he wasn t a terrorist. he was a police officer.
it makes it look like welcome back to dateline. the walton boys had made it out of the westgate mall, which was still a scene of terror. the walton boys made it out of the westgate mall, which was still a scene of terror. but their mother, katherine, and her three girls were still trapped inside. and then, a man holding a gun approached them. the next moments would be critical. here s kate snow with the conclusion of our story. for more than four hours, catherine walton, her girls and the kenyan woman helping them huddled in a hiding space barely bigger than a bathtub closed off from the outside world, catherine didn t know she was part of a terrorist attack. all she knew was that gunmen were canvassing the mall shooting at everyone. and now a man with a gun was creeping toward her.