Terrorist Shooting at Mall

[HSW]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/06/mall.shooting/index.html

A 19-year-old gunman who police said killed eight people and then himself at a Nebraska mall left a suicide note predicting the shootings would make him famous, his landlord said.

Police have identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins, 19, of Nebraska.

var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger('cnnImgChngr','/2007/US/12/06/mall.shooting/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html',3,1);//CNN.imageChanger.load('cnnImgChngr','imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html');Five other people were injured, and two of them were in critical condition, hospital officials said.

The shootings inside the Von Maur department store at the popular Westroads Mall in Omaha sent panicked holiday shoppers fleeing for cover.

"It was just so loud, and then it was silence," said witness Jennifer Kramer, who hid behind a clothing rack. "I was scared to death he'd be walking around looking for someone else."

Police identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins of Bellvue, Nebraska.

Chief Thomas Warren of the Omaha Police Department called the shooting "premeditated," but said it "appears to be very random and without provocation."

Debora Maruca Kovac, Hawkins' landlord, said she found the suicide note after getting a phone call from Hawkins about 1 p.m., just minutes before the shootings.

"He basically said how sorry he was for everything," Maruca Kovac said of the note. "He didn't want to be a burden to people and that he was a piece of s--- all of his life and that now he'd be famous."

She said Hawkins was a friend of her sons and "reminded me of a lost puppy that nobody wanted." He came to live with her about a year and a half ago, telling her he could not stay with his own family because of "some issues with his stepmother."

She described Hawkins as well-behaved, although "he had a lot of emotional problems, obviously."

Maruca Kovac told the Omaha World-Herald that Hawkins showed her an SKS semiautomatic Russian military rifle the night before the rampage, but she wasn't alarmed.

The shootings began about 1:42 p.m. (2:42 p.m. ET).

Seven people were found dead at the scene by officers who arrived six minutes later; two others, a male and a female, died after being transported to Creighton University Medical Center, said Fire Chief Robert Dahlquist.

A Creighton spokeswoman said a second female underwent surgery and was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon.

Three other people were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

One, a 61-year-old man who sustained a chest wound after being shot in the armpit, had surgery and remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit Wednesday night, said hospital spokeswoman Maggie O'Brien.

The other two -- a 34-year-old man who was shot in the arm, and a 55-year-old man who fell and struck a clothing rack as he was trying to escape -- were treated and released, she said.

Warren said Hawkins was armed with an SKS assault rifle. His body, and the weapon, were found on the store's third floor, he said.

about 11 a.m., and called the house about two hours later, sounding upset.

"He just said he wanted to thank me for everything I'd done for him ... and he was sorry," Maruca Kovac said. He told her he had gotten fired from his job at a McDonald's restaurant, she said.

"I said, 'Come home and we'll talk about it,' " she recounted. "He said, 'It's too late.' He said he'd left a note explaining everything."

Kramer told CNN she heard at least 25 shots.

"I looked at my mom and said, 'We need to get out of here. Those are gunshots,' " Kramer said. "I just grabbed my mom and we ran to the back of the men's department and hid in some pants racks."

"He just kept firing," she said. She said she called 911 on her cell phone, whispering into it out of fear of being heard. A dispatcher told her other calls had been received and help was on the way, but she said it seemed to take "a long time" for them to arrive.

She said as she was being escorted out by police, she saw a man lying injured by the escalator where she had been previously.

Mall employee Charissa Tatoon said a man by an escalator near her was heard saying he was calling 911.

"Immediately after that, the shooter shot down from the third floor and shot him on the second floor," she said.

"All of us were slightly confused because we didn't know what it was," Tatoon said. "Immediately after that, there was a series of maybe 20 to 25 more shots up on the third floor."

Warren, the police chief, said the victims included five females and three males, not including Hawkins. The shooting appeared to be contained in the Von Maur store, he said.

"We believe there was one shooter, and one shooter only," he said.

Maruca Kovac said Hawkins' mental state seemed to be improving but he had been through a rough patch recently.

"When he first came to live with us, he was in the fetal position and chewed his fingernails all the time," she said. But she said she thought he was improving, as he had gotten a job, a haircut and a girlfriend.

However, she said Hawkins and his girlfriend had broken up in the last couple of weeks, and he had taken it hard. Then he got fired from McDonald's on Wednesday.

She said late Wednesday that authorities were searching her house for evidence.

"My kids are devastated," she said. "We're all in shock."

A school district spokeswoman said he attended Papillion-La Vista High School until he withdrew in March 2006. The World-Herald said he later earned his GED.

President Bush had visited Omaha on Wednesday before the shooting.

"The president is deeply saddened by the shootings in Omaha," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "His thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."

The shooting was at least the fourth at a mall or shopping center so far this year, following incidents in Salt Lake City, Utah; Kansas City, Missouri; and Douglasville, Georgia.

If this kid would have been muslim there would have been an

8 page thread slamming muslims/middle eastern people.

[rumpshakers]

This is what caught my eye "Terrorist Shooting at Mall", my thought was this guy is crazy. But you do have a valid point.

[HSW]

This is what caught my eye "Terrorist Shooting at Mall", my thought was this guy is crazy. But you do have a valid point.

I just find it strange that a "terror" attack in the US seems to be

defined by the nationality/religion of the person who caused it.

I have not heard one mention of this being a "terrorist" attack in

any of the media outlets.

[Ax]

If this kid would have been muslim there would have been an 8 page thread slamming muslims/middle eastern people.

Especially if he was wearing a bin Laden t-shirt shouting, "Death to infidels!"

[Mad Mike]

would have been muslim there would have been an[/size]

8 page thread slamming muslims/middle eastern people.

OH please. No doubt that someone might say something stupid but to make the clam you just did is every bit as asinine. :doh:

[HSW]

OH please. No doubt that someone might say something stupid but to make the clam you just did is every bit as asinine. :doh:

It's the truth. If you cannot deal with then just keep your head

buried in the sand.

[Midnight Judges]

This is why the American fascination with murderers and serial killers annoys me. It gives idiots like this an incentive.

[PiLfan]

Maruca Kovac told the Omaha World-Herald that Hawkins showed her an SKS semiautomatic Russian military rifle the night before the rampage, but she wasn't alarmed.

Ok, now i understand she wasn't his parent or even legal guardian, but it's this kind of "oblivousness" that really ticks me off about these teenage shooting rampages.

Take almost any HS, college or other mass murder committed by a "troubled" teen in the past decade or two, and you'll see parents or other surrounding adults who just chose to ignore or turn an oblivous eye to their strange, anti-soical behaviors. I mean, who the F wouldn't be "alarmed" if your 18/19 year old kid (or a renter who's been living with you for a year and a half) starts casually flashing semiautomatic weapons in front of you like they're a new pair of shoes or something.

Just boggles my mind.

[Major Harris]

there'd be an 8 page thread, no doubt. but probably 5 or 6 pages worth of it would be piling on the original poster of the thread, saying how dumb the idea was.

[rincewind]

there'd be an 8 page thread, no doubt. but probably 5 or 6 pages worth of it would be piling on the original poster of the thread, saying how dumb the idea was.

The other 2 or 3 pages would be posts by Sarge.

[rachievegas]

If this kid would have been muslim there would have been an

8 page thread slamming muslims/middle eastern people.

It's a shame that this is true nowadays. Anyone that goes killing people is a terrorist, no doubt about it. No matter the skin color or religion.. I think this country just likes to quickly label someone of just the Muslim persuasion because it's easy and they think a lot of people would agree with them. :doh:

(Ugh, trying to wake up, can't get thoughts together)

[Ken]

OH please. No doubt that someone might say something stupid but to make the clam you just did is every bit as asinine. :doh:

You must live under a rock...

:doh:

[Om]

Can somebody please explain to me why the thread title calls this a "terrorist" shooting, and the replies are anything but "wtf"?

[Mad Mike]

You must live under a rock...

:doh:

I know it's not as good at blocking mind control waves as tin foil but...

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Can somebody please explain to me why the thread title calls this a "terrorist" shooting, and the replies are anything but "wtf"?

Well, its a pretty loose use of terror, but its not entirely crazy. The guy did use terror as a means to express what he wanted to say. Now, it doesn't appear he's doing it for political gain, but it does seem that he intended some sort of personal gain in spreading fear.

[Mad Mike]

Can somebody please explain to me why the thread title calls this a "terrorist" shooting, and the replies are anything but "wtf"?

Yeah I know. I just got sidetracked by the thread starters final comment. Isn't there a board rule against misleading headlines?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Dude looks like a lady.

Whatever, this is exactly what we were talking about with ST. No one in this thread has said RIP to the victims and no ones so much as thought about those 8 families that have lost a loved one.

Instead, we're just doing the typical tailgate bickering back and forth. How predictable.

[Larry]

Ok, now i understand she wasn't his parent or even legal guardian, but it's this kind of "oblivousness" that really ticks me off about these teenage shooting rampages.

Take almost any HS, college or other mass murder committed by a "troubled" teen in the past decade or two, and you'll see parents or other surrounding adults who just chose to ignore or turn an oblivous eye to their strange, anti-soical behaviors. I mean, who the F wouldn't be "alarmed" if your 18/19 year old kid (or a renter who's been living with you for a year and a half) starts casually flashing semiautomatic weapons in front of you like they're a new pair of shoes or something.

Just boggles my mind.

What boggles my mind is the number of people who seem to think that things like possession of a firearm, owning any article of clothing in camouflage or black, playing video games, listening to the wrong kind of music, or spending time on the internet are grounds for people to be calling the cops, because people should have just known that he was a maniac.

OK, he owned a semi-automatic weapon.

So do I.

I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of the posters on ES do, too. (Well, if I was betting, I'd say it would be less than half. But if it turned out to be over half it wouldn't surprise me.)

[Midnight Judges]

Whatever, this is exactly what we were talking about with ST. No one in this thread has said RIP to the victims and no ones so much as thought about those 8 families that have lost a loved one.

I think that goes without saying.

[Zguy28]

This is why the American fascination with murderers and serial killers annoys me. It gives idiots like this an incentive.

QFT.

For OM:

[Walking Deadman]

"If this kid would have been muslim there would have been an

8 page thread slamming muslims/middle eastern people."

Crazy White Protestant emo kids.....they should go back to Europe!!!!!!

(Happy Now?)

[KingGibbs]

Like I've said before. Today's youth is ****ed up. The military should run a campaign like this:

"Want to kill others then yourself? Iraq and Afghanistan is waiting for you."

It is such a cowardly act to kill others knowing that you are going to off yourself.

I'm glad that POS MSF isn't here anymore because he would've blamed the victims for not carrying heat just like he did last year in a mall shooting.

MODS if that is inappropriate let me know and I'll delete it. I thought it would be okay since he is on "vacation."

[HSW]

Can somebody please explain to me why the thread title calls this a "terrorist" shooting, and the replies are anything but "wtf"?

While there is no universal definition of terrorism, various experts point out that there are common elements to most terrorist acts.

Terrorists choose targets and actions to maximize the psychological effect on a society or government. Their goal is to create a situation in which a government will change its policies to avoid further bloodshed or disruption. For these reasons, terrorists often choose methods of mass destruction, such as bombings, and target transportation or crowded places to increase anxiety and fear. Terrorists plan their acts to get as much media exposure as possible. Media coverage magnifies the terrorist act by spreading fear among a mass audience and giving attention to the terrorist cause.

Seems fairly straight foward to me. He wanted to go to a crowded place to create terror which would get him media attention for his cause.

[PiLfan]

What boggles my mind is the number of people who seem to think that things like possession of a firearm, owning any article of clothing in camouflage or black, playing video games, listening to the wrong kind of music, or spending time on the internet are grounds for people to be calling the cops, because people should have just known that he was a maniac.

OK, he owned a semi-automatic weapon.

So do I.

I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of the posters on ES do, too. (Well, if I was betting, I'd say it would be less than half. But if it turned out to be over half it wouldn't surprise me.)

Larry, I think you're completely missing my point. If a family chooses to possess firearms (hunting rifles, etc), and the parents know what their kids are doing and even teach them how to properly use one, like at a firing range, then there is no "oblivousness".

What I am outraged at is when parents, guardians, or whoever is the primary supervising adult doesn't have a flippin' clue what their kids are doing. It's called parental responsibility. Now i don't know about other people, but in my household I wouldn't have my kids anywhere near a firearm...and if I ever saw one of them brandishing a gun...and a semiautomatic rifle no less...my reaction wouldn't be "ehh, oh well, kids will be kids".

But that's just me.

[Larry]

MODS if that is inappropriate let me know and I'll delete it. I thought it would be okay since he is on "vacation."

Meaning, you thought it was OK to call somebody out and attack them, since they can't talk back?