Police: Off-Duty Cop Saved Lives In Mall

Salt Lake City Police Say Officer Prevented Gunman Who Fatally Shot 5 From Killing More

(CBS/AP)  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.

[gunownerdan]

"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!"

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

[rupica]

LETS TALK WHY US GOVERMENT ALLOWED THIS BOSNIAN IMIGRANT BLOOD THIRSTY MUSLIM PEOPLE WHO ALREADY HAD IN THEIR RECORDS THOUSANDSSSS OF VICTOMS CHRISTIANS KILLED IN BOSNIA ,WHY WERE THEY GIVEN GREEN CARDS UPON COMING HERE ??/ SO LETS NOT MAKE THIS GUN ISSUE CAUSE ITS NOT THIS WAS BOSNIAN MUSLIM IMIGRANT WHO DID IT AND WHAT SCARES ME IS THAT MORE IS TO COME I AM VERY SCARED FOR MYSELF MY FAMILY LOTS OF EM LIVES HERE GOD BLESS

[dredre2k]

SoNinja: "Well anywho, people kill people, not guns, irresposible, spoiled, kids of today, that's our future! =]"

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!

[usawatchman]

Posted by Three-o-six at 02:25 PM : Feb 14, 2007

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..

[so_ninja]

Guns don't kill people, people kill people.
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! =]

[three-o-six]

Gay athiest

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?

[three-o-six]

Sorry USA Watchman - i just re-read you piece and the idiot is gayathiest

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

[three-o-six]

USA Wathman

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

[usawatchman]

Don't any of you gun toting idiots realize that events
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..!

[silver9991]

Man, how far off-topic can we get???

[kailumego1]

Shurch4truth, you are 200% correct, and let's not leave out the "witch-hunts" here in he United States, where supposed witches were hanged, for refusing to convert. Furthermore, these so-called executions for engaging in witchcraft, amounted to nothing more than neighbors pointing their fingers at other neighbors out of jealously and over minor disputes.

And obviously a lot of Americans know very little about Muslims because the largest Muslim population is in Indonesia, and not Arab occupied countries. Likewise, although Iran is majority Muslim, they also have small population of Iranian Jews, and they are not Arab, but Persian, so, stop referencing them as Arabs.

[santo_marco]

Why is it that we see signs of protest stating "BEHEAD THOSE WHO INSULT ISLAM"? Why is it that the "PEACEFUL" Islamics/Muslims are not aggressing their own who are insulting their own faith? Why are they not ranting and raving over the terrorism that their own are creating, but only over the only assumption we can make based on the hundreds of thousands that threaten our western democracy? Someone please explain that.

[yoopermom]

With all the bad publicity the police have been getting in the past few weeks, this officer proves that they are not all bad.

[vbopfor132]

[gunownerdan]

Thank goodness off duty Officer Ken Hammond had the good sense to have his gun with him. Responsible armed and prepared citizens who can safely and properly use their firearms are MUCH harder to victimize. CONCEALED CARRY SAVES LIVES AGAIN!

[gunownerdan]

acauble1, many people are "goth" simply because people like you can't handle it.

[gunownerdan]

gayatheist, try to learn something:
pinkpistols.org
"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who
are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who
regard the preservation of freedom as the basic
purpose of their daily life and who are willing to
consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom."
- President John F. Kennedy

Terrorists and other killers prefer UNARMED VICTIMS.
A defenseless victim is an easy victim.
a-human-right.com

[acauble1]

The reports said he was wearing a 'trenchcoat', was that because:

A. It was cold and that's the normal wear for Utah folk.

B. He was simply trying to hide his weapons

C. He was one of those 'Goth' styled retards

Or is it 'all of the above'? Sure he may have been Muslim, but even Muslim teens can turn into those freeky Goth types. The kids who have shot up other locations, mostly high schools, have been known to identify themselves as a 'Goth'. Perhaps that is a religion/cult/identity that we need to look into with our teens today. What causes them to want to identify with a style that looks like they're straight out of Purgatory!

[gayathiest]

"Killers Prefer Unarmed Victims
Posted by GunOwnerDan at 10:00 PM : Feb 13, 2007"

Dipstick!!!!!!

Let him loose in the mall with a pocketknife and see how many victims he can rack up.

[gayathiest]

Don't any of you gun toting idiots realize that events 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.