Terror as gunman wounds six in shopping mall rampage
A gunman opened fire inside a busy shopping mall, wounding at least six people, one critically, and taking three others hostage in a music store before he surrendered to a police commando team.
Witnesses described seeing a man walking backwards through the mall in Tacoma, Washington, yesterday, firing a rifle. At least six people were injured, one critically, as shoppers and store clerks scrambled for cover.
Tacoma Police spokesman Mark Fulghum said the suspect was a young man, but he had no other details or possible motives.
The gunman came out of the Sam Goody music store without a gun and surrendered to the police commando team, Fulghum said. He said police were interviewing the victims and the three hostages – two men and a woman – today, to determine what happened during the nearly four hours he was inside.
While the suspect was in the music store, employee Joe Hudson was able to pick up a phone call from The Associated Press news agency and say he and others had been taken hostage.
Susan Serveau said she also called her daughter, Kathy Riggans, 24, a manager at Sam Goody, as soon as she heard about the shooting.
“She was upset and scared. She was crying,” Serveau said, standing in a car park near the mall. “All she would say was that she was OK.”
Authorities said they began getting calls about 12.15pm local time that shots had been fired inside the Tacoma Mall. The first caller said there was a gunman. “He was in the mall, walking along, firing,” Fulghum said.
State Patrol and police units from nearby agencies clustered around an entrance at the south end.
Inside, Stacy Wilson, 29, of Bonney Lake, heard a popping noise and turned around.
“I saw the gunman randomly shooting. I ran with a group of women,” Wilson said. She said they crouched behind a wall in a shop. She said she heard 15 to 20 shots.
“He was walking backwards and shooting. I couldn’t see his face,” she said. “Everyone was running and screaming.”
Betz Dejarnatt, who works at the JC Penney store, said workers were herded into dressing rooms and offices, then police took them outside to a car park.
Six people were taken to hospitals, most with minor injuries, according to Tacoma Fire Department Deputy Chief Jon Lendosky. One person was in a critical condition at Tacoma General Hospital, spokesman Todd Kelley said.
