Sheriff calls fatal shooting at mall in US random attack
Source: Agencies |
December 13, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
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THE US mall shooting that left three dead and forced hundreds of Christmas shoppers to hide or flee appears to have been a random attack, authorities said yesterday.
The masked gunman, who was one of the three dead, was seemingly targeting "anyone who was in his line of sight," Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts told NBC's "Today" show.
"It was very apparent that he had a mission set forth to really take the lives of people in that mall," Roberts said.
Police said they have tentatively identified the gunman but would not release his name. There's no known connection between the gunman and the man and woman who were killed and the woman who was wounded.
The shooting Tuesday afternoon at the busy Portland, Oregon, mall started shortly after a man in a white mask carrying a rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest said, "I am the shooter," as if announcing himself, said Austin Patty, 20, who works at a mall department store.
A series of rapid-fire shots followed as Christmas music continued to play. Patty said he ducked and then ran.
Witnesses said the suspect fired several times near the mall food court until the rifle jammed, and he dropped a magazine onto the floor and ran into the Macy's store.
Some in the mall said they were close enough to the shooter to feel the percussion of his gun.
The masked gunman, who was one of the three dead, was seemingly targeting "anyone who was in his line of sight," Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts told NBC's "Today" show.
"It was very apparent that he had a mission set forth to really take the lives of people in that mall," Roberts said.
Police said they have tentatively identified the gunman but would not release his name. There's no known connection between the gunman and the man and woman who were killed and the woman who was wounded.
The shooting Tuesday afternoon at the busy Portland, Oregon, mall started shortly after a man in a white mask carrying a rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest said, "I am the shooter," as if announcing himself, said Austin Patty, 20, who works at a mall department store.
A series of rapid-fire shots followed as Christmas music continued to play. Patty said he ducked and then ran.
Witnesses said the suspect fired several times near the mall food court until the rifle jammed, and he dropped a magazine onto the floor and ran into the Macy's store.
Some in the mall said they were close enough to the shooter to feel the percussion of his gun.
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