Okay, before I start I would just like to say, i've been in a similiar incident, so maybe I already know the source of this dream. That being said, I will carry on!

I was at the mall, alone. I heard someones voice call to me, I'm not too sure what they said, but it sounded like "are you ready for this?!"
Suddenly, there were people everywhere, walking around with shopping bags and carts. Everything seemed to be normal. I started walking to one of my favourite stores, and realized things were slowly turning into my college campus.
Then I had seen someone I hadn't seen in a while. She smiled at me, and I smiled back. I was going to go and say hi, and ask how she had been. Then suddenly, people atarted running around the corner with backpacks, and hand bags. I didn't hear anything, but I instantly knew what was going on.
The person I knew immediately started running the opposite way, and I was left alone. I looked behind me, just to see a man with a gun. He was dressed in all black, and had holsters and ammo puches strapped to his waist.
The adrenaline kicked in, and I dove to the side of the hallway, and just lied there.
Shots rang out, and some people fell to the ground.
(I'll try not to get into too much detail, as this was a very lucid, and real dream.)
The man continued opening fire at random, and all I could do was quickly crawl away on my hands and knees.
A security guard came around the corner and fired a few rounds back at the gunman, but did not succeed. The guard was taken down. As the guard hit the ground, I got to my feet and started running. But as I was running, the ground began sinking in on me, and I couldn't run as quickly. It was as if I were trying to run in three feet of water.
The gunman approached me and asked if I was okay.

My dream ended.

I can honestly say, it's already ruined my day.
Can the media be a role in this dream? Has anyone else had a dream like this?

The gunman asked you if you were ok? That's nuts. Sometimes in my dreams just before I wake up or sometimes in just random phases My vision goes dark. And my legs kind of give out forcing me to crawl like in some cheesy jason movie.

I know what you mean, sometimes things just blur out. That wasn't the case for this dream. Things were vivid, so clear. The sounds, the feel. It still has me thinking pretty hard.

The question to ask is who is the gunman, or what does the gunman represent? What is the gunman protecting you from?

The gunman can be a person, or could be your mind trying to protect you from something you fear whether it be a situation or thought. Yet you were afraid of the gunman himself. As if you know the truth, but don't want to face it.