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Gunman Kills Eight, Then Kills Himself, at Omaha Shopping Mall
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
OMAHA, Neb. — BREAKING NEWS: A man with a rifle opened fire at a busy Omaha shopping mall Wednesday, killing eight people before taking his own life, police said. Five others were wounded, two critically.
Shoppers and employees ran screaming through the mall and barricaded themselves in dressing rooms after hearing gunfire. The gunman was found dead on the third floor of the Von Maur department store.
A suspect was taken into custody, but his role in the shooting was not clear. An employee at the Von Maur department store, where the shooting took place, reportedly sustained a self-inflicted wound.
Two gunshot victims who were treated at Creighton Medical Center died from their wounds, FOX News confirmed, and a third victim being treated there remained in critical condition.
No additional information was available on the other fatalities.
Andrea McMaster, a spokeswoman for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told FOX News that three shooting victims were being treated there: a 61-year-old man shot in the chest, a 34-year-old man shot in the arm, and a 55-year-old man with a cut to his face. The 61-year-old man was in critical condition and undergoing surgery.
FOX News confirmed that one victim was shot in the head and killed.
A witness, Todd Trimpe, told FOX News that he saw police apprehend a man, dressed in camouflage, who was hiding under a bus-stop bench outside the mall. Trimpe said the man "stood out like a sore thumb." He did not know what was happening inside the mall when he witnessed the arrest.
Police had put the Westroads Mall, Omaha's largest shopping mall, on lockdown while it searched for the gunman.
One of the victims was reportedly an elderly man found near an escalator inside Von Maur department store, one of the mall's anchor tenents.
Witnesses described hearing "dozens and dozens" of shots being fired, with one witness saying she heard more than 30 shots.
A woman who answered the phone at an Old Navy store said 20 to 30 customers were huddled with employees in a back storeroom.
"All we know was people were running and screaming down the hallway by Von Maur saying there was a shooting, and then they locked us down," said the woman, who said her name was Heidi.
Keith Fidler, an employee at Von Maur, said he heard the burst of gunfire, followed by dozens of shots. Fidler said he huddled in the corner of the men's clothing department with about a dozen other employees until police yelled to get out of the store.
Fidler said he did not see the shooting, but saw a person lying by the elevator as he was leaving the store.
President Bush was in town Wednesday for a fundraiser in Omaha, but left about an hour before the shooting.
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
OMAHA, Neb. — BREAKING NEWS: A man with a rifle opened fire at a busy Omaha shopping mall Wednesday, killing eight people before taking his own life, police said. Five others were wounded, two critically.
Shoppers and employees ran screaming through the mall and barricaded themselves in dressing rooms after hearing gunfire. The gunman was found dead on the third floor of the Von Maur department store.
A suspect was taken into custody, but his role in the shooting was not clear. An employee at the Von Maur department store, where the shooting took place, reportedly sustained a self-inflicted wound.
Two gunshot victims who were treated at Creighton Medical Center died from their wounds, FOX News confirmed, and a third victim being treated there remained in critical condition.
No additional information was available on the other fatalities.
Andrea McMaster, a spokeswoman for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told FOX News that three shooting victims were being treated there: a 61-year-old man shot in the chest, a 34-year-old man shot in the arm, and a 55-year-old man with a cut to his face. The 61-year-old man was in critical condition and undergoing surgery.
FOX News confirmed that one victim was shot in the head and killed.
A witness, Todd Trimpe, told FOX News that he saw police apprehend a man, dressed in camouflage, who was hiding under a bus-stop bench outside the mall. Trimpe said the man "stood out like a sore thumb." He did not know what was happening inside the mall when he witnessed the arrest.
Police had put the Westroads Mall, Omaha's largest shopping mall, on lockdown while it searched for the gunman.
One of the victims was reportedly an elderly man found near an escalator inside Von Maur department store, one of the mall's anchor tenents.
Witnesses described hearing "dozens and dozens" of shots being fired, with one witness saying she heard more than 30 shots.
A woman who answered the phone at an Old Navy store said 20 to 30 customers were huddled with employees in a back storeroom.
"All we know was people were running and screaming down the hallway by Von Maur saying there was a shooting, and then they locked us down," said the woman, who said her name was Heidi.
Keith Fidler, an employee at Von Maur, said he heard the burst of gunfire, followed by dozens of shots. Fidler said he huddled in the corner of the men's clothing department with about a dozen other employees until police yelled to get out of the store.
Fidler said he did not see the shooting, but saw a person lying by the elevator as he was leaving the store.
President Bush was in town Wednesday for a fundraiser in Omaha, but left about an hour before the shooting.
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.
Up to 9 dead now, 10 including the gunman.
Yeah yeah yeah you people from Australia or UK will come out of the woodworks to say guns should be banned blah blah blah.
Question, would this have happened if the 1/3 of the mall patrons are known to have concealed carry weapons? Or even if one guy had a carry gun next to the gunman when this happened, would it have ended differently?
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