Westroads Mall
Another mall trajedy is unfolding today. 9 Dead - CNN reports...
Police search for suspect in shooting at Omaha mall
CNN -- Police were searching for a person who fired shots Wednesday at the popular Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, killing one person and wounding a number of others, according to CNN affiliate KMTV.
The Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, is locked down after the shooting.
The shooting took place at the Von Maur store inside the shopping complex, which was locked down, the Nebraska State Patrol said.
Paramedics were at the scene. At least two people were seen being taken from the shopping complex on stretchers and placed in an ambulance.
Shoppers and employees walked out of the building with their hands up. Some described hiding in clothes racks and dressing rooms after hearing the shots.
"I was standing around getting ready to go back to work and all of a sudden I heard this bang, bang, bang -- it sounded like someone shooting fireworks," a witness told CNN affiliate KETV. "I ran to get away from whatever was happening."
"We heard about 35, 40 shots, and on our way our we did see someone down by the escalator, bleeding," Jennifer Cramer told KETV.
Another witness said people started running frantically from the Von Maur area saying there was a shooting.
"I heard three loud pops," said mall employee Charissa Tatoon. "Immediately after that, there was a series of maybe 20 to 25 more shots up on the third floor." She said she saw a man shot on the second floor and "at least four or five" people brought out on gurneys.
Another woman who works at the mall said she saw a woman shot, and added that the shots seemed to be coming from inside the Von Maur store, on an upper level.
People were gathering outside the mall, checking on loved ones believed to be inside.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center said it had received one patient, a man shot in the upper arm. He was listed in critical condition and was taken into the operating room, said hospital spokeswoman Andrea McMaster.
The hospital was awaiting the arrival of two more people, but was unaware of their conditions, McMaster said.
The Creighton University Medical Center reported received two injured people.
Sources
Police: 9 Dead; Apparent Shooter Dead
Shots Fired At Westroads
POSTED: 2:01 pm CST December 5, 2007 UPDATED: 4:19 pm CST December 5, 2007
OMAHA, Neb. -- Omaha police said nine people were dead, including the alleged shooter, after shots were fired inside the Von Maur store at Westroads Mall on Wednesday afternoon.
Fourteen more were injured, two critically, police said.
Sgt. Teresa Negron said there are nine fatalities. She said officers found the suspected shooter dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Negron could not describe the shooter, but said he was a male. Negron said most of the victims were inside Von Maur.
Creighton University Medical Center said it had three victims and two were fatalities. The dead were a man and a woman, and no further details were released.
The Nebraska Medical Center said it has three gunshot victims, all wounded but alive. Paul Vaultus, at NMC, said a 61-year-old man was shot in the chest and was in surgery before 3:45 p.m. A 34-year-old man had a wound and was in fair condition. A 55-year-old man had cuts to the face.
Police said they believe the gunman used a rifle. Police said he was found on the third floor.
Negron said every available officer in the city was sent to the mall, and it took six minutes from the time of the call for the first officers to arrive. She said that at 4 p.m., officers were inside the mall talking to every person inside.
The Von Maur corporate headquarters in Davenport, Iowa, sent a statement to media: "We are deeply saddened by the horrific shooting at our Omaha store this afternoon. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this tragic event, as well as their families. We are cooperating fully with the Omaha and Nebraska state police departments."
The Omaha Fire Department's Robert Dahlquist said his units were responsible for taking seven victims from the scene. He said two of those people died at hospital. The gunman was not among those transported.
Witness Accounts Vary
Shoppers and workers scattered and took cover, police and witnesses said.
Witness reports vary widely. Jennifer Kramer, a witness who said she was hiding in a men's room with her mother at Von Maur, said she heard 35 to 40 shots as she was taking cover inside the mall. A Westroads kiosk worker, Kathy, told KETV NewsWatch 7 that she heard three pops. She said a Bath and Body Works manager approached her and told her to get out of the mall hallway as there was a situation, and a shooter had not been located.
Another witness said he heard four or five shots in rapid succession. Shawn Vidlak said he was told while he was inside the mall that as many as five people had been injured.
Colby Barak told KETV NewsWatch 7 that she was on lockdown inside Westroads Mall. She said she was doing Christmas shopping at Younkers, and an announcement was made that no one would be allowed to leave. Just before 2 p.m., Barrett said, another announcement was made that shoppers could leave but would not be allowed back in.
A group of paramedics made their way into Von Maur at about 2:25 p.m.
Doug, a shopper at the mall, said police are restricting the movements of people inside the mall.
Outside the mall, shoppers were seen leaving with their hands over their heads.
Inside a first-floor dressing room at Von Maur, Julie used her cell phone to call KETV NewsWatch 7 and report that she was with a group of girls and they were scared. Julie said she heard noise getting closer, but she didn't know what had happened. She said she went out of the dressing room and saw other people in the store running and laying down, so she went back into the dressing room.
Omaha Burke High School was locked down for a time, but has since reopened.
President George W. Bush had been in Omaha earlier on Wednesday, but the president's flight lifted off about an hour before the shooting reports came in.
Grenade Found Last Week At Same Mall
A grenade was found Friday night at an Omaha shopping mall.
Officers went to the northwest corner of the parking lot at Westroads Mall after someone reported finding an explosive device. The mall security directed officers to the area of the parking lot where the device was located. The Omaha Police Bomb Squad Unit was called and removed the intact grenade safely from the area.
A source told KETV NewsWatch 7 the grenade was lying on the ground with no note or information, but that it did have a pin in it. The source said it looked like a pineapple grenade.
No one has connected the grenade and the shootings.
Source
Grenade Found At Westroads
POSTED: 11:44 am CST December 1, 2007 UPDATED: 12:00 pm CST December 3, 2007
OMAHA, Neb. -- A grenade was found Friday night at an Omaha shopping mall.
Officers went to the northwest corner of the parking lot at Westroads Mall after someone reported finding an explosive device. The mall security directed officers to the area of the parking lot where the device was located. The Omaha Police Bomb Squad Unit was called and removed the intact grenade safely from the area.
A source told KETV NewsWatch 7 the grenade was lying on the ground with no note or information, but that it did have a pin in it. The source said it looked like a pineapple grenade.
No further information was available.