Teen Gunman kills 5 in Utah mall
By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 27 minutes ago
The 18-year-old gunman who opened fire on shoppers in a mall, killing five and wounding four others before police fatally shot him, was armed with several rounds of ammunition and was carrying two guns, authorities said Tuesday.
Detectives were still trying to figure out what sparked the young man's rampage Monday night at the Trolley Square shopping mall.
Salt Lake City police Detective Robin Snyder said the shooter had been identified as an 18-year-old from the Salt Lake City area, but she did not release his name. He was firing with a shotgun, and also had a handgun and several rounds of ammunition, the detective said.
As investigators began interviewing the 100 to 200 witnesses Monday night and Tuesday, people left candles and flowers at two memorials outside the mall for the victims.
Marie Smith, 23, a Bath & Body Works manager, said she had seen the gunman through the store window Monday night. She watched as he raised his gun and fired at a young woman approaching him from behind.
"His expression stayed totally calm. He didn't seem upset, or like he was on a rampage," said Smith, who crawled to an employee restroom to hide with others. He looked like "an average Joe," she said.
Killed in the attack were two 28-year-old women, a 52-year-old man, a 24-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl, Snyder said. Four people were hospitalized a man and a woman in critical condition and two men in serious condition, Snyder said.
For hours after the rampage, police searched stores for scared, shocked shoppers and employees who were hunkered down awaiting a safe escort.
Matt Lund was visiting his wife, Barbara, manager of the Secret Garden children's clothing store, when he heard the first shots. The couple and three others hid in a storage room for about 40 minutes, isolated but still able to hear the violence.
"We heard them say, 'Police! Drop your weapon!' Then we heard shotgun fire. Then there was a barrage of gunfire," said Lund, 44. "It was hard to believe."
They say officers treated everyone like suspects ordering those hiding in storerooms, bathrooms or under stairwells, to lie on the floor with their hands on their heads until police were sure no one posed a threat.
On the way out, Lund said, he saw a woman's body face-down at the entrance to Pottery Barn Kids and a man's body on the floor in the mall's east-west corridor. "There were a lot of blown-out store windows and shotgun shell casings all over the floor," Lund said. "It was quite surreal."
The victims were found throughout the 239,000-square-foot shopping mall.
Outside, streets were blocked as police swarmed the four-block scene. Dozens of people lingered on the sidewalk, many wrapped in blankets, as they talked about what they had seen inside.
The two-story mall, southeast of downtown, is a refurbished trolley barn built in 1908, with a series of winding hallways, brick floors, wrought-iron balconies and about 80 stores, including high-end retailers such as Williams-Sonoma and restaurants such as the Hard Rock Cafe.
Antique store owner Barrett Dodds, 29, said he saw a man in a trench coat exchanging gunfire with a police officer outside a card store. The gunman, he said, was backed into a children's clothing store.
"I saw the shooter go down," said Dodds, who watched from the second floor.
Four police officers one an off-duty officer from Ogden and three Salt Lake City officers were involved in the shootout with the gunman, Snyder said. She provided no other details.
Barb McKeown, 60, of Washington, D.C., was in another antique shop when two frantic women ran in and reported gunshots.
"Then we heard shot after shot after shot loud, loud, loud," said McKeown, saying she heard about 20. She and three other people hid under a staircase until it was safe to leave.
The mall was purchased in August by Scanlan Kemper Bard Cos. of Portland, Ore., from Simon Property Group for $38.6 million. The company said it planned to invest $80 million, attract a new anchor tenant and possibly add condominiums.
"We are devastated and shocked by this senseless, random act of violence and tragedy at Trolley Square, owner Tom Bard said in a statement posted on the KSL-TV Web site. "At this time our greatest concern and prayers are with the victims, their families and loved ones."
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Associated Press writer Doug Alden in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
The question is: Why guns?
By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 27 minutes ago
The 18-year-old gunman who opened fire on shoppers in a mall, killing five and wounding four others before police fatally shot him, was armed with several rounds of ammunition and was carrying two guns, authorities said Tuesday.
Detectives were still trying to figure out what sparked the young man's rampage Monday night at the Trolley Square shopping mall.
Salt Lake City police Detective Robin Snyder said the shooter had been identified as an 18-year-old from the Salt Lake City area, but she did not release his name. He was firing with a shotgun, and also had a handgun and several rounds of ammunition, the detective said.
As investigators began interviewing the 100 to 200 witnesses Monday night and Tuesday, people left candles and flowers at two memorials outside the mall for the victims.
Marie Smith, 23, a Bath & Body Works manager, said she had seen the gunman through the store window Monday night. She watched as he raised his gun and fired at a young woman approaching him from behind.
"His expression stayed totally calm. He didn't seem upset, or like he was on a rampage," said Smith, who crawled to an employee restroom to hide with others. He looked like "an average Joe," she said.
Killed in the attack were two 28-year-old women, a 52-year-old man, a 24-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl, Snyder said. Four people were hospitalized a man and a woman in critical condition and two men in serious condition, Snyder said.
For hours after the rampage, police searched stores for scared, shocked shoppers and employees who were hunkered down awaiting a safe escort.
Matt Lund was visiting his wife, Barbara, manager of the Secret Garden children's clothing store, when he heard the first shots. The couple and three others hid in a storage room for about 40 minutes, isolated but still able to hear the violence.
"We heard them say, 'Police! Drop your weapon!' Then we heard shotgun fire. Then there was a barrage of gunfire," said Lund, 44. "It was hard to believe."
They say officers treated everyone like suspects ordering those hiding in storerooms, bathrooms or under stairwells, to lie on the floor with their hands on their heads until police were sure no one posed a threat.
On the way out, Lund said, he saw a woman's body face-down at the entrance to Pottery Barn Kids and a man's body on the floor in the mall's east-west corridor. "There were a lot of blown-out store windows and shotgun shell casings all over the floor," Lund said. "It was quite surreal."
The victims were found throughout the 239,000-square-foot shopping mall.
Outside, streets were blocked as police swarmed the four-block scene. Dozens of people lingered on the sidewalk, many wrapped in blankets, as they talked about what they had seen inside.
The two-story mall, southeast of downtown, is a refurbished trolley barn built in 1908, with a series of winding hallways, brick floors, wrought-iron balconies and about 80 stores, including high-end retailers such as Williams-Sonoma and restaurants such as the Hard Rock Cafe.
Antique store owner Barrett Dodds, 29, said he saw a man in a trench coat exchanging gunfire with a police officer outside a card store. The gunman, he said, was backed into a children's clothing store.
"I saw the shooter go down," said Dodds, who watched from the second floor.
Four police officers one an off-duty officer from Ogden and three Salt Lake City officers were involved in the shootout with the gunman, Snyder said. She provided no other details.
Barb McKeown, 60, of Washington, D.C., was in another antique shop when two frantic women ran in and reported gunshots.
"Then we heard shot after shot after shot loud, loud, loud," said McKeown, saying she heard about 20. She and three other people hid under a staircase until it was safe to leave.
The mall was purchased in August by Scanlan Kemper Bard Cos. of Portland, Ore., from Simon Property Group for $38.6 million. The company said it planned to invest $80 million, attract a new anchor tenant and possibly add condominiums.
"We are devastated and shocked by this senseless, random act of violence and tragedy at Trolley Square, owner Tom Bard said in a statement posted on the KSL-TV Web site. "At this time our greatest concern and prayers are with the victims, their families and loved ones."
___
Associated Press writer Doug Alden in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
The question is: Why guns?
