Police: Off-Duty Cop Saved Lives In Mall
In this May 3, 2012 photo, inmates sleep inside their cell in San Pedro Sula Central Corrections Facility in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Inside one of Honduras' most dangerous and overcrowded prisons, inmates operate a free-market bazaar, selling everything from iPhones to prostitutes. Guards do not cross into the inner sanctum controlled by prisoners, and prisoners do not breach the perimeter controlled by guards. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) / Rodrigo Abd
An off-duty police officer having an early Valentine's Day dinner with his wife was credited Tuesday with helping stop a rampage in a crowded shopping mall by an 18-year-old gunman who killed five people before he was cut down.
A day after the shooting, investigators struggled to figure out why a trench-coated Sulejmen Talovic opened fire on shoppers with a supremely calm look on his face.
The teenager wanted to "to kill a large number of people" and probably would have killed many more if not for the off-duty officer, Police Chief Chris Burbank said.
Ken Hammond, an off-duty officer from Ogden, north of Salt Lake City, jumped up from his seat at a restaurant after hearing gunfire and cornered the gunman, exchanging fire with him until other officers arrived, Burbank said.
"There is no question that his quick actions saved the lives of numerous other people," the police chief said.
"I feel like I was there and did what I had to do," Hammond told reporters. After spotting the gunman, he told his pregnant wife to take cover in the restaurant and went to confront the suspect.
Police said it was not immediately clear who fired the shot that killed Talovic.
Talovic had a backpack full of ammunition, a shotgun and a .38-caliber pistol, police said. Investigators knew little about Talovic, except than he lived in Salt Lake City with his mother and three younger sisters, police said.
Police say they have no motive for the rampage. Talovic had some minor juvenile incidents and dropped out of the Salt Lake City school system in November of 2004, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes.
"He was such a good boy. We don't know what happened," says Ajka Omerovic, Talovic's aunt.
Talovic drove to the Trolley Square shopping center — a century-old former trolley barn with winding hallways, brick floors and wrought-iron balconies, and immediately killed two people, followed by a third victim as he came through a door, Burbank said. Five other people were then shot in a gift shop, he said.
The victims were identified as Jeffrey Walker, 52, Vanessa Quinn, 29, Kirsten Hinkley, 15, Teresa Ellis, 29, and Brad Frantz, 24. Four people were hospitalized — a 44-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man in critical condition, and a 34-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy in serious condition.
The card store Cabin Fever had been packed with Valentine's Day shoppers Monday night when the shooting started, store owner David Dean said.
Dean said his assistant manager called him, saying "someone's in the store killing people." The place was "all shot up," Dean said. He said three or four of the victims were shot inside.
As investigators began interviewing the 100 to 200 witnesses, people placed candles and flowers at two memorials outside the mall for the victims. Business owners surveyed the damage, and shoppers who had fled returned to pick up cars they had to leave parked overnight.
Marie Smith, 23, a Bath & Body Works manager, said she had seen the gunman through the store window. She watched as he raised his gun and fired at a young woman approaching him from behind.
"His expression stayed totally calm. He didn't seem upset, or like he was on a rampage," said Smith, who crawled to an employee restroom to hide with others. He looked like "an average Joe," she said.
Outside the mall, candles and flowers were left as memorials to the victims, who were identified as Jeffrey Walker, 52, Vanessa Quinn, 29, Kirsten Hinkley, 15, Teresa Ellis, 29, and Brad Frantz, 24.
Hammond's boss, Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner, said the state Senate wants to honor him.
"Thank goodness he was there," said Greiner, who is also a state senator. "You don't want to ever say it's good we were there and killed somebody, but it's probably good someone was there."
Accountant Jeff Barlow was on a date at a restaurant when he looked outside and saw the gunman firing from the hip.
"I thought it was some kind of joke — some kind of movie or stunt," Barlow said. "I didn't believe it was happening. And then I saw a man go down in a courtyard. I realized this was serious. These are real bullets flying around."
His date, Stephanie Bronson, added: "Just crazy. Absolutely terrifying."
Also Monday night, a business meeting in Philadelphia turned deadly when a gunman, apparently angry over money, killed three men and critically injured a fourth before exchanging gunfire with police and then killing himself, police said.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A day after the shooting, investigators struggled to figure out why a trench-coated Sulejmen Talovic opened fire on shoppers with a supremely calm look on his face.
The teenager wanted to "to kill a large number of people" and probably would have killed many more if not for the off-duty officer, Police Chief Chris Burbank said.
Ken Hammond, an off-duty officer from Ogden, north of Salt Lake City, jumped up from his seat at a restaurant after hearing gunfire and cornered the gunman, exchanging fire with him until other officers arrived, Burbank said.
"There is no question that his quick actions saved the lives of numerous other people," the police chief said.
"I feel like I was there and did what I had to do," Hammond told reporters. After spotting the gunman, he told his pregnant wife to take cover in the restaurant and went to confront the suspect.
Police said it was not immediately clear who fired the shot that killed Talovic.
Talovic had a backpack full of ammunition, a shotgun and a .38-caliber pistol, police said. Investigators knew little about Talovic, except than he lived in Salt Lake City with his mother and three younger sisters, police said.
Police say they have no motive for the rampage. Talovic had some minor juvenile incidents and dropped out of the Salt Lake City school system in November of 2004, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes.
"He was such a good boy. We don't know what happened," says Ajka Omerovic, Talovic's aunt.
Talovic drove to the Trolley Square shopping center — a century-old former trolley barn with winding hallways, brick floors and wrought-iron balconies, and immediately killed two people, followed by a third victim as he came through a door, Burbank said. Five other people were then shot in a gift shop, he said.
The victims were identified as Jeffrey Walker, 52, Vanessa Quinn, 29, Kirsten Hinkley, 15, Teresa Ellis, 29, and Brad Frantz, 24. Four people were hospitalized — a 44-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man in critical condition, and a 34-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy in serious condition.
The card store Cabin Fever had been packed with Valentine's Day shoppers Monday night when the shooting started, store owner David Dean said.
Dean said his assistant manager called him, saying "someone's in the store killing people." The place was "all shot up," Dean said. He said three or four of the victims were shot inside.
As investigators began interviewing the 100 to 200 witnesses, people placed candles and flowers at two memorials outside the mall for the victims. Business owners surveyed the damage, and shoppers who had fled returned to pick up cars they had to leave parked overnight.
Marie Smith, 23, a Bath & Body Works manager, said she had seen the gunman through the store window. She watched as he raised his gun and fired at a young woman approaching him from behind.
"His expression stayed totally calm. He didn't seem upset, or like he was on a rampage," said Smith, who crawled to an employee restroom to hide with others. He looked like "an average Joe," she said.
Outside the mall, candles and flowers were left as memorials to the victims, who were identified as Jeffrey Walker, 52, Vanessa Quinn, 29, Kirsten Hinkley, 15, Teresa Ellis, 29, and Brad Frantz, 24.
Hammond's boss, Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner, said the state Senate wants to honor him.
"Thank goodness he was there," said Greiner, who is also a state senator. "You don't want to ever say it's good we were there and killed somebody, but it's probably good someone was there."
Accountant Jeff Barlow was on a date at a restaurant when he looked outside and saw the gunman firing from the hip.
"I thought it was some kind of joke — some kind of movie or stunt," Barlow said. "I didn't believe it was happening. And then I saw a man go down in a courtyard. I realized this was serious. These are real bullets flying around."
His date, Stephanie Bronson, added: "Just crazy. Absolutely terrifying."
Also Monday night, a business meeting in Philadelphia turned deadly when a gunman, apparently angry over money, killed three men and critically injured a fourth before exchanging gunfire with police and then killing himself, police said.
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It is already illegal for "crazy people"(mentally disturbed and violent felons) to purchase guns. Our right to defend our lives and the lives of others with a gun will never be antiquated!
a-human-right.com
People *with access to handguns & shotguns* guns kill people! It's sad that in the US *almost* any loon can get access to a gun at walmart or a gunshow, and mow down a group of people.
How would you feel if an insane teenager who had easy access to a gun mowed down your loved ones? Would you stil defend the second amendment so adamently? No offense, but I never understood how pro-gun people can witness the most henous killings and still defend someone's right to carry a gun.
Personally, I think handguns and shotguns have proven to be more of a public safety nuisance than a protection. I don't trust (you) or "responsible gun-owners" enough to own any tool that makes it easy to kill someone or a large group of people. Handgun ownership is akin to carrying around a bomb for self-defense.
I don't have a problem with hunters owning rifles as long as the process is regulated and the guns registered with states to prevent the guns being sold to non-licensed hunters.
The 2nd amendment is antiquated and should be repealed. The right to bear arms was written into the bill of rights when this country was under the threat of invasion from Britain. Let's prevent assault weapons from landing in the hands of crazy people!
I was about to go in GUNS A BLAZING..
then I reread your second post..
LETS ALL COOL OUR GUNS
There is going to time when we will have to stand up to these
GUN GRABBING CRIMINALS
UNTIL THEN
Keep your powder dry, and your (our) temper and guns cool..etc..
and focus on (and remember) who the
GUN GRABBING CRIMINALS ARE..
Not too long ago kids were allowed to own guns and there was hardly ever a kid who went around killing kids, because if they were to do so, they knew they would get the death penalty. Nowadays, kids are raised in such way, that they seem to be corrupted, even education has dramatically dropped its standards in America, it's like the future of America will be runned by even dumber idiots. :o
Well anywho, people kill people, not guns, irresposible, spoiled, kids of today, that's our future! =]
So you are an atheist -- good -- you have no basis for determing what is right and what is wrong -- so tell me why i should believe that it is wrong to kill ***.
If it comes down to survival of the fittest (evolution) then if i am able to kill you -- proving my self mot fit to survive -- why shouldn't I?
UNDERSTAND THIS!!!
THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL GET MY GUNS IS TO PRY THEM FROM MY COLS DEAD HANDS
-------------------------------------------------
More than likely though I will kill you as you try
You are right -- They use explosives instead in England -- London has a higher violent crime rate than any city in the US (because criminals know that citizens are un-armed) - So shut up you idiot
like this don't ever happen in Great Britain?
Guns DO kill people, dipstick!!
Disarm the nation and stop repressing individual
freedom and these events will cease.
Posted by gayathiest at 11:33 PM : Feb 13, 2007
FYI when they took up all the gun in the UK
clubbing, beatings, stabbing...etc
SKYROCKETED...
THEY (MAN) WILL ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO KILL
the UK now want to register ALL Knives...
FYI
A GOVERNMENT (any government)
IS ONE OF THE MOST PERFECT KILLING MACHINES
ALL THE MASS SLAUGHTERS IN HISTORY HAVE
ALL BEEN DONE BY TYRANT GOVERNMENTS..
gayathiest
you ask how many would he been able to kill with a pocket knife??
FYI - it depends on a SKILL LEVEL for example I imagine I could easily kill 50
with a two inch pocket knife should I ever be motivated (deranged) to do so..
FYI - Like I said it depends on your SKILL LEVEL..
IMHO, that teenager in UTAH, like you, are DUMB A$$es..!