Omaha Gunman's Note: "Now I'll Be Famous"

8 Killed, 5 Hurt In Mall Slaying; 19-Year-Old Shooter Kills Self, Left Suicide Letter

(CBS/AP)  The teenager carried his rifle into the mall, passing shoppers and decorations.

A department store employee was pressing a suit for a customer. A woman was making a quick stop to buy Christmas presents before picking up her son from school. Christmas music played.

The gunman stopped on the third floor and cut through the sounds with gunfire. Shoppers and employees at the Westroads Mall scrambled for cover in dressing rooms, clothing racks, offices and storage areas.

He appeared to fire without apparent motive or specific targets, reports CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds.

Eight people were killed and five wounded before the shooter ended the horror by taking his own life. He left behind a note that read, in part, "Now I'll be famous."

The victims' names were given at a press conference Thursday by Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren. The victims are aged 24 to 66, employees as well as customers, 5 females and four males deceased, including the suspect, Robert Hawkins.

The deceased include Gary Scharf, 48, of Lincoln, Neb, a customer, John McDonald, 65, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, a customer, Angie Schuster, 36, an employee, Maggie Webb, 24, an employee, Janet Jorgenen, 66, an employee, Diane Trent, 53, an employee, Gary Joy, 56, an employee and Becky Flynn, 47, an employee.

Omaha mayor Mike Fahey offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

"There are no words to adequately express our feelings this morning," Fahey said.

"I saw employees taking a bunch of people into the dressing room, but I didn't want to go," shopper Jennifer Kramer told CBS' The Early Show. "I didn't know if this guy was going to come looking for people in dressing rooms, so we hid in a pants rack towards the back of the men's department."

Robert A. Hawkins, 19, had a criminal record and had been kicked out of his parents' house. Police have not said anything about the motive, but Hawkins had suffered a string of setbacks over the past year.

A family friend said he recently broke up with a girlfriend and got fired, and a source told CBS News affiliate KMTV-TV he tried, but failed, to get into the Army.

Hawkins was kicked out by his family about a year ago. He moved in with a friend's family, and Debora Maruca-Kovac and her husband welcomed him into their home and tried to help him.

"He came to us like a little lost puppy. He was always very sensitive and caring, always wanting to know how everybody was doing," Maruca-Kovac told The Early Show. "He just needed a chance to get on his feet."

"We never saw violence in him," she said.

She told the Omaha World-Herald that the night before the shooting, Hawkins and her sons showed her an SKS semiautomatic Russian military rifle - the same type used in the shooting. She said she thought the gun belonged to a member of Hawkins' family. She said she didn't think much of it - the gun looked too old to work.

Records in Sarpy and Washington counties showed Hawkins had a felony drug conviction and several misdemeanor cases filed against him, including an arrest 11 days before the shooting for having alcohol as a minor. He was due in court in two weeks.

Maruca-Kovac said Hawkins was fired from his job at a McDonald's this week and had recently broken up with a girlfriend. She said he phoned her at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, telling her he had left a note. She tried to get him to explain.

"He said, 'It's too late,"' and hung up, she told CNN. She then called Hawkins' mother.

In the note, which was turned over to authorities, Hawkins wrote that he was "sorry for everything" and would not be a burden on his family anymore.

Maruca-Kovac went to her job as a nurse at the Nebraska Medical Center, where victims of the shooting soon began to arrive.

"I was fearful that he was going to try to commit suicide," she told The Early Show. "But I had no idea that he would involve so many other families."

"I feel so sorry for him, that he was so lost and alone that he had to resort to this."

[mcvet]

How do we deal with this? How do we deal with kids who feel it''s necessary to do things like this to be noticed? I blame our economy, the loss of all our good paying jobs, that allowed parents to work a 40 hour week and devote time to their families. My neighbor down the street works two jobs and his wife works full time just to make up for a job he had before the "Trickle Down" people came along. His kids are beginning to cause trouble and are in trouble in school a lot these days.

[adian1-2009]

Too many sick people out there. And their favorite toy is fireweapons. And gun manufacturers always find their way with presidents and congress, and also with judges and state legislatures and governors. And innocent people pay. . . with their lives. Well, nothing to be surprised about, most states in our nation have the capital punishment, and the federal government, too. And we brag about how advanced we are and even try to sell our image abroad! What an ex-empire?

[cryonbrian]

I am not trying to be a wise guy but they need to start profiling some of these White boys! These young men are not sick at all! They know exactly what they are doing!

[gunownerdan]

Omaha Gunman Note: "Now I''ll Be Famous"

And CBS is doing its part to make it happen.

[whatithink-2009]

If we should feel sorry for him, we should also feel sorry for the 19 year old in the street gang. How many people are blaming society for Sean Taylor''s killers?

These things happen all the time in our inner cities and nobody seems to care. It''s only a matter of time before the problems in the inner cities become a problem in the suburbs. If we let it happen to any child, we put risk of it happening to any child.

People need to wise up and stop thinking these things don''t happen here. Why shouldn''t it?

[gunownerdan]

When a terrorist or other homicidal nutcase decides to murder innocent people at a school, at a shopping mall, or some other public place, the only thing that can possibly stop them early is a responsible armed citizen or security guard.
The police will take minutes to arrive once they are called and by then it will be too late.
Your own personal safety is your responsibility, not the government or the police. If your state allows concealed carry, get educated, get trained, and get prepared:
www.a-human-right.com

"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun."
-- The Dalai Lama

[rarc2]

In my book Where Freedom Reigns, published three years ago, a disaffected young man in Omaha shot and killed seven people before turning the gun on himself. It was one more tragic incident cited in the heated national debate over gun control that ultimately led America into a Second Civil War. See www.WhereFreedomReigns.com

[sandzz-2009]

''I blame our economy, the loss of all our good paying jobs, that allowed parents to work a 40 hour week and devote time to their families.'' BY MCvet.

You can''t be serious, we still have good paying jobs, you know the ones requiring some more than a high school education. If you would like to go beyond that and go to grad school then one''s prospects for getting a job that pays in excess of $100k is pretty good if they did good in grad school. Really, the jobs are fine, stop asking for every loser to be a winner when they are not willing to do anything about it themselves. It is rather tiring to hear the same BS excuse. Numerous people in this country have went from lowest to highest economic rungs in just one generation because the parents pushed their kids and blamed themselves instead of others. Your neighbors are merely giving their kids more excuses, the likely end result is they''ll end up living the rest of their life that way as losers that always blame somebody else for their own loser life.

[alexma50085]

Great, now the parinoid in American will start calling for even more security to take away even more of our freedoms. Anyone ever read the book 1984? Welcome to the beginning of the end.

[barbaraf4]

"I feel so sorry for him, that he was so lost and alone that he had to resort to this."
~~~~~
I *don''t* feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for all the other lives and families he affected before ending his worthless, sorry (pun intended) life.

Networks: STOP THE COVERAGE!!!! There is another nutcase waiting on the sidelines for their turn to be famous. The more airtime you give this garbage, the more inspired others become.

Nutcases: Just because you hate your life, stop trying to go out with the grand gesture! You just might be killing the person who will cure a major disease (think cancer). Simply walk out into the woods and end your misery. Don''t inflict it on anyone else.

[dredre2k]

How many more deaths before assault weapons are banned, and guns are taken out of the hands of the unstable and the irresponsible? This is yet another horrible incident where innocent people lose their lives because of guns and the "right to bear arms".

[gmcnally2]

Maybe the press should stop making these people famous.

[tehkummah-2009]

I have one simple suggestion that would stop all this...if you''re contemplating murder-suicide on a grand scale such as this, start with the suicide.

[barbaraf4]

"This is yet another horrible incident where innocent people lose their lives because of guns and the "right to bear arms"." Posted by dredre2k
~~~~~~~~~
I doubt that this person had acquired his weapon through legal channels. The day I have to give up my gun will be a cold day in h*e*l*l. I am a hardworking member of a society that honors that right (so far). Why should a loser like this guy be able to carry a gun if I am not?

[elin018]

I can not believe that you asked to see that man''s wound''s? What were you thinking? The head wasn''t dead yet..let me see for sure? I would have re-thought that question. Where is your heart lady?

[extremophil]

At least the rancid little Hemorrhoid killed himself, and saved the taxpayers all of those lawyer and court fees.

[usbrit-2009]

AAhh gunownerdan chimes in with his recipe for anarchy - how unsurprising. Quoting the Dalai Lama this time no less. I suppose we have evidence that the good ole Dalai is covering an AK47 under all those robes!!! One good thought though. It does seem that these wanna be (in)famous shooters might be a little deterred in the future if news stories about them referred to "an unnamed gunman" with no further details instead of printing the guy''s name and complete life story every time this happens. In the mean time as a society we have to figure out ways of stopping felons like this one getting guns in the first place.

[ythrow]

dredre2 are u an idiot! when are we going to ban drugs? How many more deaths before drugs are banned, and drugs are taken out of the hands of the unstable and the irresponsible? This is yet another horrible incident where innocent people lose their lives because of drugs and the "and no anti-drug laws". u make me laugh

[ythrow]

dredre2 are u an idiot! when are we going to ban drugs? How many more deaths before drugs are banned, and drugs are taken out of the hands of the unstable and the irresponsible? This is yet another horrible incident where innocent people lose their lives because of drugs and the "and no anti-drug laws". u make me laugh

[sbb2211]

dredre2k

"This is yet another horrible incident where innocent people lose their lives because of guns and the "right to bear arms"."

People did not lose their lives because of guns. The gun did not say ''I will point myself at a human and fire''. A person killed people.

If we all registered for a concealed weapon permit (not necessarily actually carrying a weapon), people that want to do this would think twice because ANYONE would have the power to take them out before they can ''become famous''.

You surely must understand that if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.

[prinzowhales]

dredre2k--A nation that animates such creatures as this abomination...this "famous" McDonald''s reject who was just "being all he could be"...a nation that cannot defend its borders from drugs, illegals or attack...a nation that has its jails filled to the brim and twists the minds and souls of its youth with heroes of sports arena and heroines of stage and screen...poisons their brains and bodies with mercury, fluoride, excitotoxins, HFCS and the like...''medicates'' them with anti-psychotics that promote self-destruction and psychopathological violence...such a nation reaps what it sows...it has shown itself to be careless, arrogant, ignorant, perverse and murderous...I will not disarm in the face of modern murderous America--

[trenticus-2009]

The biggest clue something was wrong with this kid was when he got FIRED from McDonald''s!!! I thought working at McD''s was like working for the government, hard to get fired from.

[whatithink-2009]

It is hard to kill nine people with a knife.

[dredre2k]

"I doubt that this person had acquired his weapon through legal channels. The day I have to give up my gun will be a cold day in h*e*l*l. I am a hardworking member of a society that honors that right (so far). Why should a loser like this guy be able to carry a gun if I am not?"

--- He probably didn''t get the gun through legal channels... but guns are so prevalent and accessible in this country, anyone can get a gun (or steal one) and go postal.
No offense to you, but there are many "responsible" gun owners in this country who end up losing it and shooting people, and i just don''t trust other people to be responsible with dangerous weapons. I''m sure you''re responisble; but there''s a lot of trust that people have to give to gun owners to be responsible and not dangerous.
To me, selling a gun that can kill 15 people is like selling a bomb and telling someone not to use it to commit crimes.
Too many guns have been manufactured and sold in this country and most are used in violent crime.
I believe that the right to bear arms should be revoked, frankly.

[alexma50085]

It is hard to kill nine people with a knife.

Posted by whatithink


It''s even harder to defend yourself against a gunmen with knife. Leave the second amendment alone.

[sbb2211]

Prinzowhales

"dredre2k--A nation that animates such creatures as this abomination...this "famous" McDonald''''s reject who was just "being all he could be"...a nation that cannot defend its borders from drugs, illegals or attack...a nation that has its jails filled to the brim and twists the minds and souls of its youth with heroes of sports arena and heroines of stage and screen...poisons their brains and bodies with mercury, fluoride, excitotoxins, HFCS and the like...''''medicates'''' them with anti-psychotics that promote self-destruction and psychopathological violence...such a nation reaps what it sows...it has shown itself to be careless, arrogant, ignorant, perverse and murderous...I will not disarm in the face of modern murderous America--"

Don''t hold back. Tell us how much you really hate America. It is people like you with such drastic views that society needs to fear. You are one step away from becoming like the shooter in Omaha because you beleive everyting is ''***'' already.

[drew30319-2009]

My prayers are with the families and loved ones of those killed and injured.

Another senseless tragedy propagated by our narcissistic teens that have never experienced accountability; a depressing trend that demands change and real parenting skills.

Last year my daughter was murdered by a coward like him.

Drew Crecente
Director, Jennifer Ann''s Group
www.JenniferAnn.org

[alexma50085]

I believe that the right to bear arms should be revoked, frankly.

Posted by dredre2k

That way only criminals will have the guns. That makes me feek sooo much safer.

[cyberus-2009]

Of course *now I''ll be famous*, the media has already seen to that.
Along with making every survivor re-live the event every time they walk outside, with cameras and micrphones shoved into their faces.

[sbb2211]

dredre2k

"Too many guns have been manufactured and sold in this country and most are used in violent crime.
I believe that the right to bear arms should be revoked, frankly."

Tens of MILLIONS, if not hundreds of MILLIONS of firearms hae been manufactured in this country. Most ARE NOT BEING USED FOR VIOLENT CRIMES! Stop spouting nonsense.

If guns are outlawed, what will the police and military use?

[king77shaw]

more white on white crime...

[gunshack1]

Good God! This looser got out of his jeep dressed in camo,carrying an SKS, walks thru the parking lot, goes in the mall and walks up three flights of stairs and NO ONE stops him. What the h*** is wrong with that picture. Are we so timid now that we can''t challenge someone in that situation?

[badfish911]

there are no words to express how much i HATE this kid
what an ignorant selfish punk that didnt even deserve to die so easy

[alexma50085]

The paranoid are emerging screaming for anti-gun laws and more security. Let''s keep taking away more of our rights. Let''s just let the government take control of our entire lives. Tell us who to marry, when to have children, what job we can work, how much money we can have. George Orwell has already discribed a society like that in 1984, maybe if we were teaching our children more about the world and societies expectations, we wouldn''t have children killing people.

[sbb2211]

zoe20006

"GUN CONTROL - then this idiot couldn''''t get a gun. And the NRA is trying to get rid of a ban on guns in Delaware and Washington, D.C. Everyone will be shooting each other...enough with playing cowboy!"

Criminal already bypass the law to get guns. Gun control WILL NOT stop criminals from getting guns.

If anyone needed to be able to protect themselves, the residents of DC are high on the list. That is one of the most crime-infested areas of the country.

Being a cowboy has been an honorable profession, why are you slamming them? Why don''t you say something like ''stop playing ghetto thug''?

[ianlou]

"He just needed a chance to get on his feet..."

It''s to the point that being a conscientious hardworking AVERAGE American isn%u2019t enough to get on your feet anymore. Heaven forbid you have a problem or two - If you do, you are going nowhere. you will have to remain a child depending on Mom and Dad for your food, shelter and the cloths on your back - Wait a minute, Mom and Dad threw this one to the curb!
God Bless the family who tried to help this kid who tried but failed to become a man.

I think what this kid was really saying is: %u201CWhen you got nothin, you got nothin to loose.%u201D

What a dog eat dog time and place we live in.

[citizenjane]

Lets put this together shall we...
1. The woman that he is staying with was only afraid that he would commit suicide.
2. He obtained a rifle and showed it to her.
3. She did nothing.
4. She feels so little responsibility that she is busy granting interviews.
Who else has serious problems with this?

I do. We need to teach in our high schools how to identify possible mental illness and how to encourage people to get help.


The media needs to agree to not post pics and names of the perps in these cases.

[averjane]

Prinzowhales

Part of what you say is true about the kinds of things going on in our society here in America. These are the kinds of people the liberal world views negatively effect the most. They have no direction, no morals, and are totally lost. This guy saw no hope and there was no intervention anywhere. (Maruca-Kovac saw no red flags when she saw he had a gun) It''s just a shame that many lives were taken because this guy turned out to be one who couldn''t function mentally to withstand how twisted our people have become. This is why so many people around the world hate America. I believe it is the extreme left and what they stand for that they hate most about us. Let me assure people of other countries that there are many here who don''t like it either. We have to fight it at every turn. America''s destruction comes from within.

[alexma50085]

Good God! This looser got out of his jeep dressed in camo,carrying an SKS, walks thru the parking lot, goes in the mall and walks up three flights of stairs and NO ONE stops him. What the h*** is wrong with that picture. Are we so timid now that we can''''t challenge someone in that situation?

Posted by gunshack1

To many people want to be politically correct. Don''t correct another person, that could damage their self-image and cause them to feel sad. If you see a toddler walking down the highway, you would stop and get him, even if he wasn''t yours, wouldn''t you? Wait nope, that happen here where I live, and 20 cars passed before someone with sense actually stopped. Americans need to stop pussyfooting around, and stand up.

[prinzowhales]

SBB2211--Not hardly, you''d have to shoot me to get me in a mall...especially this time of year.

I must have stepped on some big toes with you, mate. You''re a big sports fan, I take it?...Enjoy your mercury and the rest of the wonderful chemicals I noted? Think its normal for a country to have so many in jail? Think our education is just dandy...Did your kiddies pass the "put the condum on the banana" test? Little gold stars for that...while their reading and math scores rank them behind twenty-plus other nations...where mindless ego-driven lard-arses are the exception not the rule. Go back to your celebration of a Game Boy, Pepsi Generation gangsta'' rap, Kultur of mental dysfunction...

[citizenjane]

These young men are not sick at all! They know exactly what they are doing! I disagree. I think they are sick. But it is interesting to note that the individual who ends up doing this kind of thing is usually a young white male.

[dredre2k]

"Tens of MILLIONS, if not hundreds of MILLIONS of firearms hae been manufactured in this country. Most ARE NOT BEING USED FOR VIOLENT CRIMES! Stop spouting nonsense.If guns are outlawed, what will the police and military use?"

Yes, 10''s of millions of guns have been manufactured and sold to the population, you are correct. Far too many have been used in crimes to kill the innocent. Any nut can go to a gun show in some states and buy a weapon... or can steal one... whatever, guns have become so pervasive people arm themselves out of fear.

Furthermore, guns should only be outlawed for the population ... not the military or the police.
Anyways, that''s my opinion and I won''t call your opinion nonsense. You do have a right to disagree.

[alexma50085]

Furthermore, guns should only be outlawed for the population ... not the military or the police.
Anyways, that''''s my opinion and I won''''t call your opinion nonsense. You do have a right to disagree.

Posted by dredre2k

Don''t punish the majority for the minorities crimes.

[barbaraf4]

"In my book Where Freedom Reigns, published three years ago, a disaffected young man in Omaha shot and killed seven people before turning the gun on himself. It was one more tragic incident cited in the heated national debate over gun control that ultimately led America into a Second Civil War." Posted by RARC2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interesting, if self-promoting. What is your point? Were you pro or con for gun control? I''m in favor of gun control - as long as they get the guns out of the hands of the criminal element and as long as I get to keep mine.

[usbrit-2009]

AverJane - you are completely wrong. It is the far right in America that the rest of the world abhors. Reminds them way too much of a guy with a dinky little moustache.

[mbcsmith]

I knew mcvet would go over the edge one day.

[skinnyminny2]

Maybe we should do what Israel does in their malls/shoopping areas....have security at entrances. It''s not that bad and you feel better inside when shopping. Anyhow (digressing a minute), I''m surprised our malls haven''t been terror targets. This event shows our malls are very easy targets requiring little or no planning.

[gunshack1]

Folks you''re beating a dead horse on gun control. There are over 200,000,000 guns in service in the USA. The jeanie is out of the bottle and is not going back in. The last time the dems tried to stuff it back they got burned. It has become the third rail. You want to be safe in todays socity? Take a concealed carry course, get a gun, learn how to shoot and practice. It would have taken only one person so armed to stop that nut case.

[newsguy1972]

First of all, mall security guards in the U.S. normally aren''t allowed to carry guns. So when an armed gunman walks into a mall there''s nothing security guards there can do. In the Philippines, everybody who walks into a mall are frisked and checked for bombs. And all the guards in the Philippines carry guns. Most of the time the guards don''t have to use them.

[kristin1228]

By doing excessive coverage on this story is giving this lunatic what he wanted. I understand the need to report the story but just like the media ALWAYS does, they run a story into the ground.