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Subscribe to RSSWitnesses Kelly Lay and Mira Sytsma recount the terrifying moments when a man opened fired at Portland-area mall, killing two before turning the gun on himself.
Updated at 7:58 a.m. ET: A masked gunman killed two people and seriously injured another in a Portland, Ore., mall Tuesday, sending Christmas shoppers and people waiting in line to see Santa Claus running for cover.
The gunman, described as an adult male, took his own life after spraying bullets around the mall, said Lt. James Rhodes, of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
The shooting happened around 3:20 p.m. local time (6:20 p.m. ET) in the food court near Macy's, triggering panic among an estimated 10,000 shoppers at the Clackamas Town Center.
Several witnesses reported hearing the suspect announce, "I am the shooter," before he began firing.
"All of a sudden, I just heard a series of gunshots… boom, boom, boom, boom, boom… whatever the shooter was shooting at, they continued to shoot," shopper Bill Hoff told NBC station KGW.
A young woman, Kristina Shevchenko, was rushed to the hospital in "critical" condition, according to a family statement. After surgery, the 15-year-old was upgraded to "stable" condition.
Police agencies were able to "basically hunt down, find this guy" in record time, Sheriff Craig Roberts told NBC station KGW.
When the shooting began, people in line to get their photos taken with Santa immediately dove for cover, KGW reported.
A woman who answered the phone at a Chipotle restaurant in the mall Tuesday told NBC News that someone ran in and yelled, "It's a shooting, it's a shooting."
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts discusses the gunman who opened fire at a Portland-area mall, saying it "looked to be a random shooting."
She said employees shut the doors, and the mall was crawling with police.
Macy's employee Mariah Saldana told KGW that she was sitting by the door "watching what was going on and then some guy just ran by in a white mask and an assault rifle and then I look out because I hear a few shots and he's … and he’s sitting there and he's pointing the gun at some people."
"We ran to the fitting room, grabbed some people then ran out to the back exit to get out of there," she added.
"It was just shot after shot after shot. It was terrible. It was like a massacre," witness Kira Rowland told the station.
Pedro Garcia, 24, told the Oregonian that he had been on his way to the Panera Bread Co. to buy sandwiches when he heard at least six shots.
"I could smell the gunpowder," Garcia said. "That's what pretty much what made me run."
NBC's Mike Taibbi reports from Clackamas, Oregon, where a gunman opened fire inside a mall, killing two people and badly injuring a third before he killed himself.
Rhodes said some people had hidden in break rooms and bathrooms in the mall and that teams of police were working their way through the mall to bring them out.
He said the number of people in the area making calls had overwhelmed cellphone towers.
Rhodes said police do not believe there was a second shooter.
News reporters interviewed the mall Santa, who promised he would return to Clackamas Town Center on Wednesday.
Roberts said their thoughts and prayers went out to the victims and their families.
"For all of us, the mall is supposed to be a place we can all take our families, feel comfortable, this is the holidays … these things are never supposed to happen. We have a young lady at the hospital fighting for her life right now," he said.
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Another blue state gun crime...
It's always the gun's fault, don't ya know...
Wow Hooray! We just had a mass shooting and now a few days later another one. This great American tradition is ramping up for the holidays I guess. Once again a special thanks to the NRA for all of their tireless efforts in ensuring maximum firepower for everybody.
This is much better entertainment than our violent video games; this is the real thing.
God Bless the 2nd amendment and the NRA.
you do realize, that a home-made explosive device the size of a softball would have achieved roughly the same damage.
So would a two-liter bottle of sarin gas, but fortunately they don't sell that at Walmart.
true, but you can make a small bomb out of items you CAN buy at walmart.
Ronpal, always the same stupidity from people like you. Guns were MADE to kill, and even though you can kill with many other things, guns are the only thing that are designed to kill.
Get educated. Fat chance.
well.... that's an interesting argument ----- were guns originally created to hunt for food, or to kill other humans ???
I think most weapons were first developed for killing people and not used for hunting until they became more reliable. After all, the first "guns" were cannons.
i agree about the cannons, but how about the first rifle ?? ---- kinda hard to know with any certainty.
I have a gun and would never ever think about doing anything like this. Don't blame guns, if you do then you definitely don't need one. You might be suspect.
Guns don't do it by themselves, but they sure help.
luckily the shooter had a gun to protect his family.
Shooter in mall... surprised? I shop on line and not at the mall anymore. Safety first!!
This is becoming routine, and yet we still can't have an adult conversation about guns.
to jock - not when there are so many gun-grabbers out there ! I refuse to be as naieve' and defenseless as these people and take my responsiblility to defend myself and my familiy very seriously.
Just today, the Illinois Federal Supreme Court threw out the ban on concealed carry firearms in that state. Watch what happens with gun sales in Illinois !!!
jock -we can own firearms. That conversation has ended. Let's talk about the socioeconomic issues that are causing what is not an increase in gun deaths but let's ask why the press elevates them so it appears much more prevalent than it really is.
Think the Wild West and if the press could ping your cell phone every time there was a gun death.
So there it is.
You don't have to be naive and defenseless to have an adult conversation.
I never suggested we shouldn't be able to own firearms
Another "Second Amendment Solution." The NRA should be proud.
Economy is getting better.. Check
If you can't find a way to feed yourself or family there are thousands of freebies. Check.
Promise to vote for the Democrats and free stuff just shows up. Check.
So what's the issue with this guy?
Yeah, he's almost as angry as you.
Seriously, not the guns, it is the wing nuts like G. Beck and R. Limbaugh excercising their "first" amendment right to stupidity to stir up the masses
i guess you've never listened to 810KGO, out of san francisco.
to Sigh - oh, and the Liberal sh*t-heads on NBC don' t try to stir up anybody ???
Like fat boy Schultzie and faggoty Rachel ?? Betcha' they carry !!!
So now you are against the 1st amendment as well?
What the hell is wrong with people?
If you want to kill, kill YOURSELF and leave other people alone...
RIP all the innocent victims of this a$$hole.
People are pissed. And all our president can do is divide us up and piss us off more. That simple. Think I am wrong? Look very close at the big picture of what just happened in Michigan the past two or three days.
of course this is the president's fault.
to BobW - agree !!
I think more and more people are really pissed and seething about what is happening to our country. Liberals trying to force their sick perversions down our throats while raising our taxes to pay for moochers... there are a LOT of reasons !!
That's why a lot of folks are buying guns and stocking up on ammo. Many folks believe that things are going to get whole lot worse !!!
So Good Ol' Dog...........When are you going to do a Rambo on your local mall?
This does make you more apt to not fight over a parking space in the Mall parking lot. You never know what the nut in the other car is prepared to do. So now we can live in fear because some insane people must have their rights respected. Never mind our rights who would never even want to do physical harm to others, we don't count. Only the @!$%#s who must have any gun they want to own have the rights now. I am doing my Christmas shopping on line, you can have my parking space, @!$%#s.
An inanimate object never killed anyone ... so you liberal idiots on here need to get on the high horse you rode in on and go back to your ACLU meeting.
A responsible citizen who had a concealed to carry permit could have just as easily stopped the violence of this coward.
So that father that killed his 7-year old did it on purpose?
Completely irreverent, it was a tragic accident the 7-year old could have just as easily died in a car accident.
Dan, there are a lot of concealed carry permit holders, and yet they're rarely in the right place at the right time. How is this possible?
Yes, because I would feel so much safer in a mall or theater where everyone was carrying a gun.
What @!$%#s would say that a man shooting people at the mall has nothing to do his having easy access to guns and a child could have died some other way? I am done with the right wing. They are not only stupid, they have no morals or decency. Being responsible for your actions and being decent should count count for something is ths society and you can shove your guns up you ass where your brains are.
middle ----- sometimes they are in the right place and time, but you seldom hear about those events --- only the also rare events like this one, where people get killed and/or injured.
Jovon Belcher from the Chiefs had a gun, and you saw how that worked out. Thing is, there were about nine of them in the house and his girlfriend knew how to use one.
Oh, it's "irreverent" is it? I was not referring to God (although a gun-lovers god is his gun). I was referring to the fact that if this father did not posses a gun his 7 year-old son would still be alive. It is not "irrelevant"!
Dan - I agree !! LOL !!!
Atheists meet every time the moon is full and "Liberals for legalized pot" whenever they can stand up.
This country is sick at heart!
John
Part of this country is sick in their head and their moral compass is not working, so the rest of us, who have no need to kill people or shoot at things, are doomed to live under their sicko demands that are fed by the need to improve the profit margins of the NRA and gun manufacturers.
Welcome to America where we pump more and more guns into society in order to make it safer without a care in the world as to who picks them up. The important thing is that anyone can get one, legal or otherwise. Go USA! The best country in the world!
Guns - the most efficient way to kill, hurt or maim a person or a group of people regardless of whether they're a criminal, a kid or a shopper. Using one is as easy as pulling a trigger.
You know, He would done it with a knife or something. GUns don't kill people..?? If only everyone was armed thsi woulda be avoided.. Let's see am I missin any...oh yeah right to bear arms means any gun without restriction er somethin.
Gaad bless Nuge and duh NRA. Protectin yer freemdumb to never evolve
Either yet another person either wanting his/her 10 minutes of fame right now or lost job and/or wife/girlfriend and wanting to take out someone in a crowded place like a mall or movie theater to feel vindicated. At this time of year fame seeker figures chances of missing everyone are nil and fame guaranteed.
Good thing that 99.9% of us who have lost a job, got divorced/separated/or was ever bullied, abused, or are just pissed off about the direction of thier live, rises above it and doesn't act as some of these irresponsible people who believe its all about them.
Where I live, there is a part of town where single people or gangs roam around, especially at night in dark vans or cars, taking pot shots at homes and some, even babies and young children have died in their beds from these random gunshots.
Completely incorrect Steven B - take just 2011 for instance - Auto related deaths, 32,367... Gun related deaths, 31,347. Quit spewing garbage and using it for basis. You're blatantly making it up.
Since this tragedy has already taken a political spin - and it didn't take long - allow me to add to the mix. Blame Bush.
Oh, come now, you know this is nothing that another fat tax cut for the "job providers" won't fix.
to Paleface - Barack ?? Is that you, boy ??!!
It's just amazing how many idiots post on these boards. You how many millions of people have guns? If the news was full of "hey this guy didn't shoot anyone today" then you would read that millions of times a day. But you get a few nutjobs w/ guns then everyone overreacts and starts the "ban the gun" bandwagon. Lighten up people, there are actually good responsible people out there, it's just the Networks job to make everything bad as big as they can and alot of you all buy into it.
a few nutjobs w/ guns can ruin your whole day
Yeah because we all get shot at everyday. Better chance hitting the lottery.
It depends on where you live.
a car accident can ruin a family's day also ---- so..... you want to ban cars as well ???
Like a red cracker state.
Ronpal, somebody should ban your brain. The stupidity of your comment defies any rational thought.
And when I say brain, I'm just assuming you have one.
why, because i don't go into hysterics everytime something unpleasant happens ??? ----- apparently, you have nothing constructive to add to the conversation --- it appears all you know to do is do your best to put other people's opinions down.-----i guess that means you are an ideologue, whose opinion is the only correct one.
Well Both, the issue is this guy is a regressive a hole and didn't get his free stuff. Typical tea bagger, don't you know? See how simple that is Both? You sound like you need cranial/rectum surgery. don't wait on your surgery/
The NRA has more blood of innocents on their evil hands promoting a crazed gun culture,doing everything in their power promoting high powered automatic weapons. These are weapons that ONLY law enforcement and the military should utilize. They are NOT needed for hunting,target practice and gun collectors. But many more innocents will die because insane,angry people have easy access to these weapons. The NRA thinks that owning these weapons are more important then innocent peoples lives. The slaughter will continue on.
Unfortunately, just a glimpse into the future of the USA and the world. An overcrowded planet with 7 Billion people and counting. Studies on overpopulation show that the rats run out of resources and eventually turn violent and go after each other. My hats off to families like the Duggars with 19 children "and counting." Please don't send them to the Mall anytime soon. If it's not guns, it will be dynamite, hand grenades, barrels of fertilizer. You won't stop them...
And if it comes to arming myself go with a tazer, be registered, take the training. Of course, I'd like a Star Trek phaser with three settings, stun, kill vaporize, if I was ever in a mall and someone started firing a gun. Of course, I'd never use tazer or phaser--would be too busy hitting the ground, playing dead, or trying to hide from shooter.