OMAHA, Neb. - A man opened fire with a rifle at a busy department store Wednesday, killing eight people before taking his own life, in an attack that made holiday shoppers run screaming through a mall and barricade themselves in dressing rooms. Five more people were wounded, two critically.
The gunman left a suicide note that was found at his home by his mother, said a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak. TV station KETV reported that the note said he wanted to "go out in style."
The official identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins, age 19 or 20.
Witnesses said the gunman fired down on shoppers from a third-floor balcony of the Von Maur store. He was found dead on the third floor with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and his victims were discovered on the second and third floors, police said.
"My knees rocked. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran with everybody else," said Kevin Kleine, 29, who was shopping with her 4-year-old daughter at the Westroads Mall, in a prosperous neighborhood on the city's west side. She said she hid in a dressing room with four other shoppers and an employee.
Sgt. Teresa Negron said the gunman killed eight people, then apparently killed himself. Authorities gave no motive for the attack and said they did not know whether he said anything during the rampage.
The official identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins, age 19 or 20.
Witnesses said the gunman fired down on shoppers from a third-floor balcony of the Von Maur store. He was found dead on the third floor with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and his victims were discovered on the second and third floors, police said.
"My knees rocked. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran with everybody else," said Kevin Kleine, 29, who was shopping with her 4-year-old daughter at the Westroads Mall, in a prosperous neighborhood on the city's west side. She said she hid in a dressing room with four other shoppers and an employee.
Sgt. Teresa Negron said the gunman killed eight people, then apparently killed himself. Authorities gave no motive for the attack and said they did not know whether he said anything during the rampage.
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