US shoppers killed in gun rampage

[Deadly_Nightshade]

"We heard this "pop pop pop", and someone came running and said "gun!"

Employee

 

A gunman has opened fire in a shopping centre in the US state of Nebraska, killing eight people before fatally shooting himself, police say.

 

A further five people were wounded - two critically - in the shooting at the Westroads Mall in Omaha.

 

Police were called to the incident at lunchtime, when the centre would have been packed with Christmas shoppers.

 

Witnesses spoke of shoppers screaming and scrambling to find safe shelter as the gunman struck.

 

In a statement, the White House said President George W Bush - who visited Omaha earlier in the day for a fundraiser - said he was "deeply saddened" by the shootings.

 

'Bleeding'

 

Police were called to the centre at about 1400 local time (2000 GMT), after receiving a call from inside, said Sgt Teresa Negron.

 

The incident is said to have taken place inside the upscale Von Maur department store, inside the shopping centre. At least some of the shots were fired from an interior balcony overlooking an atrium, police said.

 

"We heard about 35, 40 shots, and on our way we did see someone down by the escalator, bleeding," witness Jennifer Cramer told local media, according to news agency AFP.

 

Barricaded in

 

One woman said she had seen the gunman on the attack.

 

"I went around and then I saw the guy in the children's department," she said.

 

"Big tall guy, real tall and he just stood there with his arm like this, his hand straight up in the air, shooting. And then I turned and ran."

 

Several witnesses spoke of barricading themselves away in stockrooms until the police arrived.

 

One employee at the centre said she had been in the wrapping department.

 

"We heard this 'pop pop pop', and... someone came running and said 'gun!', and so we all flew in the back, way in the back of the store where they keep the cleaning supplies, and we hid back there, and then finally we heard 'Omaha police! Come out with your hands up!'"

 

In an email to the BBC, Chelsea Bartholomew told how she arrived at the shopping centre as people were fleeing the scene:

 

"Two of my friends and I were just about to enter Westroads as police began blocking off the doors. Police cars and ambulances were flocking to the scene in droves.

 

"We attempted to ask a woman exiting the mall what was going on, but she ran by us, screaming, as though we weren't even there."

 

Note

 

Sgt Negron told a news conference she could confirm nine deaths, including the gunman. She said five people had been injured, two in critical condition.

 

"We do not believe that we have any other shooter," she told reporters, according to Reuters news agency.

 

"The person we believe to be the shooter has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

 

The gunman's name was not released, though local media reports, quoting police officials, say a suicide note has been found.

 

According to the Westroads Mall website, it is the largest shopping centre in Nebraska, with more than 135 shops and restaurants.

 

Mr Bush was in Omaha earlier, but he left the city before the shooting occurred.

 

"Having just visited with so many members of the community in Omaha today, the president is confident that they will pull together to comfort one another as they deal with this terrible tragedy," the White House said in a statement.

 

In an email to the BBC, Spencer Rice said he saw police cars travelling in the direction of the shopping centre after finishing lessons at the University of Nebraska.

 

"It is a tragedy anywhere, but when something like it happens in your city, near your life, it is numbing," he said.

[Humodour]

I believe you of course, but please provide a link to the source you use in future.

 

I'm kind of disturbed by the road America seems to be heading down (not just shootings... it looks like in general things are falling apart - America has fallen to the bottom 25% percent of OECD countries for mathematics and science education for example).

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Oh, sorry -I thought I had edited the quote code-box so it said "The BBC"- here's the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7129906.stm

[Colrom]

Here's a link to MSNBC's story:

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22116784/

 

I suspect the links to this news will change as the story develops.

 

Seems like an angry young man went completely crazy.

 

Too bad.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Let's just hope he had never touched, let alone -oh the horror- played, a video game...

[Gorgon]

What a moron.

[Hurlshort]

While these events are terrible tragedy, I don't really see it as evidence that the US is on a path to destruction.

 

I also wouldn't totally trust the education statistics that place the US way down. The fact is I still have a ton of parents that worked hard to send their kids to our schools, and the University system still pulls people from all over the world.

 

So I wonder when games will be blamed? The kid was homeless, so I'm not sure how that will work, but I'm sure it will happen. Where the heck did this kid get a gun and ammo?

[samm]

Yes, I'm waiting for games to be blamed, too... A couple of days ago, a guy (having a criminal record with violence) returning from military shot a girl with his ordinance weapon (swiss military service is compulsory, and you take your gun home when not on duty). Who's to blame? It was not military service where he learnt how to kill, no, it was "killer games".

So in this case, it will be the same "responsible" that will be found...

[Pop]

You know what could have stopped this? More guns.

 

Somebody had to say it.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Please tell me that's a parody...

[mkreku]

But guns don't kill people! People do!

 

We all need guns to protect ourselves from our government!! More guns would solve these problems because then the person shot in the back in the escalator might have killed the killer (and seven other people from stray shots).

[SteveThaiBinh]

Famous for fifteen minutes. Another modern day Herostratus, like we need any more.

 

 

So I wonder when games will be blamed?

It happened in a mall, so I blame shopping and consumer capitalism.

[Humodour]

If guns are outlawed, only outlaws have guns.

 

Sorry, I thought that was neat. Saw it on the shirt of Chuck's handler in Chuck (TV series).

 

Personally I think gun ownership is a very bad idea and I'm glad Australia put stringent laws on it when I was a kid.

[Walsingham]

You know what would also stop it? Powered armour. Hard to go on a rampage using Carl Gustavs. The ROF is much slower.

[Gorth]

Waiting for the latest spring fashion... Kevlar Wear for the entire family...

[Walsingham]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7130504.stm

 

Apparently he wanted to be famous. I'll just say that again, because I'm having trouble believing it. He wanted to be famous.

 

FAMOUS FOR WHAT? WHAT IS THE POINT IN BEING FAMOUS FOR BEING A COMPLETE WANKER?

 

*sobs*

 

Oh the humanity.

[Gfted1]

The Supreme Court will consider Americans' right to bear arms early next year for the first time in nearly 70 years.

 

Very interesting. I hadnt heard anything about that.

[Guard Dog]

There is something wrong with the world today. It's not video games, they are a harmless past time to most. It's not guns, they have been around for five hundred years and they have never been harder to get (legally) than they are right now. I doubt seriously it's violence in movies or TV, that is not a new phenomenon either. There is something about humanity that is just broken. It's like human life has no value to anyone anymore.

[Gfted1]

^Maybe its just straight statistical probability? The more people there are, the more likely X event happens?

[Hurlshort]

There is something wrong with the world today. It's not video games, they are a harmless past time to most. It's not guns, they have been around for five hundred years and they have never been harder to get (legally) than they are right now. I doubt seriously it's violence in movies or TV, that is not a new phenomenon either. There is something about humanity that is just broken. It's like human life has no value to anyone anymore.

 

Anymore? Violence is nothing new. Our world is incredibly safe when compared to just a few hundred years ago. Where are the marauding vikings of today?

[Walsingham]

Hurlshot has a point. I mean the uS is nothing compared to Brazil. They have a higher death rate than Iraq!

[Guard Dog]

OK. But as rare as this kind of thing is in the US today, it was just unheard of fifteen years ago. In the US at least.

[Tale]

OK. But as rare as this kind of thing is in the US today, it was just unheard of fifteen years ago. In the US at least.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman

41 years ago (definitely more than 15), this man shot and killed 14 and wounded 31 others at the University of Texas at Austin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_related_attacks 1st entry

116 years ago (also definitely more than 15), a man fired a shotgun into students at a playground

Edited December 6, 2007 by Tale

[Guard Dog]

Ok, what do I know? I'll go sit down and shut up now.

[Hurlshort]

I would say the biggest difference between violence a few decades ago and violence today is the power of the media and the youth of the offenders. I know the media is much faster and more tenacious than it used to be. The information age means these stories spread like wildfires.

 

The age of offenders is a more disturbing trend, although I might be just guessing here. I really see this coming down to bad parenting, or at least lousy discipline skills. Divorce rates HAVE risen in the last 50 years, and I think you can see that reflecting in the last two generations. Maybe it was better when religion really forced people to stay together whether they hated each other or not.