A Visit To The Mall, Then Gunshots

Victim Describes Being Struck In The Hand And Arm By Omaha Mall Teen Shooter

(CBS/AP)  Jeff Schaffart did not realize right away that the bangs he heard at Westroads Mall were gunshots.

Then he saw the blood streaming down his left arm and felt a stinging pain there.

"I could hear my wife, Carrie, yell, 'Get down! Get down!"' he said, "but I didn't."

Schaffart, 34, an Omaha attorney, and wife Carrie were on the third floor of the Von Maur department store Wednesday when a man began shooting, forcing holiday shoppers to flee and barricade themselves in dressing rooms.

Robert A. Hawkins, 19, killed eight people before turning his gun on himself, in a shooting rampage at an Omaha shopping mall, police said.

"I thought they were balloons or, you know, some kind of construction going on," Schaffert told CBS' The Early Show.

He and his wife eventually made their way into the women's restroom up there on the third floor.

The 34-year-old attorney used a necktie as a tourniquet to staunch the bleeding.

"The bleeding, thankfully, was not that bad, he told The Early Show.

Medical center representatives said they treated two other victims from the mall shooting: Fred Wilson, 61, who suffered a bullet wound to his chest. He had been in surgery for about six hours and was in critical condition in the intensive care unit Wednesday night. Wilson is a retired English teacher and was working as a customer service manager at Von Maur, a spokesman said.

Also hurt, a 55-year-old male who cut his face when he ran into a clothing rack. He was discharged.

Creighton University Medical Center spokeswoman Lisa Stites said one victim was dead upon arrival there, another died sometime after arriving, and a third, a woman, was in critical condition late Wednesday.

"I feel exceedingly lucky and fortunate to have made it through today," said Schaffart. "My heart goes out to those that didn't, and the families of those that weren't so lucky."

[flagwaverliz]

People saying "Why? How did this happen?" And all sorts of reasons from gun control to religion.

The true answer is so simple it''s not believed. Hawkins was betrayed by a rather hidden source when he most needed help. The National Institute of Mental Health makes kids into criminals and that''s where this situation can be stopped..... before it begins.

News reports that Hawkins was previously "treated for depression" (psychotropic drugs usually) and ADD, which means he probably used Ritalin, a schedule II narcotic in the same abuse category as morphine, opium and cocaine. Suicide is a major complication of withdrawal from Ritalin and similar amphetamine-like drugs.

Once a child starts "using" drugs such as Ritalin as a child, they grow up thinking that drugs are their only solution and that they can not learn to handle their own problems without using drugs or alcohol. It is their only crutch. Some kids are put on Ritalin at two years of age. By their teens, they''ve been on the drugs for over a decade.

cchr.org

[guysdigdirt]

I agree, there were a lot of people and systems that failed this young man. I feel for the people who lost loved ones, I feel for the people who had to be involved whether they got injured themselves, I also feel for the young man. Can you imagine the pain he must have been in- kicked out of the house by his parents, and then rejected at work and in his love life. Yes, we all deal with tought things in life, but his went far enough to casue him to want to die.

I am sure I will be castigated for saying that, but if you look inside yourself would you really ever wish anyone to go through that?

[guysdigdirt]

Please do not blame this on the gun. There are laws that said he should not have had a gun. If those laws did not stop him then will more laws stop other criminals from having guns, or using them on law abiding citizens if the guns are taken from law abiding citizens?

The United Nations wants to take away our right to own guns. Do you want countries like China, Syria, Iran and the such to dictate what you can do in America. I do not.

Not ranting, just some idle thoughts.

[erasmus6]

"Please do not blame this on the gun." posted by guysdigdirt

Why not? If he didn''t have a gun it probably would not have happened. Guns are used by the spineless because it is so easy to stand and shoot. I doubt that he would have attempted this with a knife. You would need some GUTS to pull that off.

[nenaof5]

I would just like to send prayers to all the victims in this terrible tragedy. I read where someone said he must have suffered a horrible childhood, even if that''s true it''s no excuse. Not everyone that has a terrible childhood walks into a store, school, mall, church etc and starts randomly killing innocent people. Maybe if we as adults would listen to children or young adults even if they aren''t ours we could help with some of the issues they have and help prevent things like this from happening.

[drivelphobe]

This is a disgusting tragedy. Is there anything that can be done? It could have been a suicide bomber strapped with enough explosive to take hundreds of lives. What a dilemma! Secure the shopping centers? Armed guards at every mall entrance with surveillance equipment? No teenagers in the mall without parents? Go internet shopping only?

Chance pays a strange role in our lives and this was bad luck for the victims. How sad for the families and friends of the victims, including those of the shooter.

[gunownerdan]

No amount of gun control laws or gun bans are going to stop homicidal nutcases from killing people.
What can stop them is an intended victim who is armed and capable of protecting themselves.
If your state has concealed carry and you would like to be responsible for your own safety, then get educated, get trained, and get prepared.
It takes only seconds for a criminal to murder innocent people, but it can take many minutes for the police to arrive and by then the damage will be done.
www.a-human-right.com

"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
-- Thomas Jefferson, quoting criminologist Cesare Beccaria

[pepperp1]

Who among us does not know the proliferation of Assault weapons in a civil society is dangerous and a direct threat to our lives and that of our neighbors.

[erasmus6]

"What can stop them is an intended victim who is armed and capable of protecting themselves." posted by gunownerdick, oops I mean dan.:0

What you have then is a WAR, in which even more people will be killed.

[animalwoman-2009]

gunownerdan - two wrongs never make a right. Nothing can be settle with a gun. I hope I never have the displeasure of running into your when you have a gun in your hand. You''d probably shot me if I burped.

[gunownerdan]

animalwoman,
So if YOU had a gun, you would shoot people just because they burped?
If so, please get mental help ASAP!

"Let me make a point here, in case this isn''t becoming extremely clear. My state has gun control laws. It did not keep Hennard from coming in and killing everybody! What it did do, was keep me from protecting my family!"
- Dr. Suzanne Gratia Hupp, Killeen Texas Luby''s massacre survivor

[animalwoman-2009]

gunownerdan - go back and reread what I said. I wouldn''t have a gun for any reason and I would never purposely hurt anyone. I''m the last person anyone has to worry about becoming violent. If you want to twist my words to make you feel big, honey, you go right ahead. You certainly will not hurt my feelings.

[robertkjjj]

Nenaof5 says "Not everyone that has a terrible childhood walks into a store, school, mall, church etc and starts randomly killing innocent people." Uh, ya think? You''d have been a lot more accurate had you said "99.999% of people who have a terrible childhood do not become mass murderers." Of course, most Americans being mathematically and statistically ignorant would have negated your intended effect. Mass murderers such as this are extremely rare. This rareness is one of the very reasons the media jumps all over such stories. Trying to understand these killers or prevent this type of crime is pure futility. There will always be these rare and random psychopaths that choose to take others with them, rather than just committing solo suicide like a "normal" depressed loser. We''ll never be able to spot all these rare killers in advance.

[kindrox]

* Nothing can be settle with a gun. *

I wonder if you could settle the dispute between you and a would be rapist with a gun? You know, the dispute where you don"t want to be raped and the rapist is not taking "no" for an answer?

Just how do you propose to settle this "dispute"?

[kindrox]

* You''''d probably shot me if I burped. *

I have been carrying a gun for about 10 years now. I have not shot anyone yet, or pulled it. My wife has been carrying for a couple of months now. Same thing.

But then again, we have never been involved as would be victims of a crime either.

[kindrox]

* Who among us does not know the proliferation of Assault weapons in a civil society is dangerous and a direct threat to our lives and that of our neighbors. *

Just how are my legally owned and so called "assualt weapons" a direct threat to my life or my neightbors?

[kindrox]

* What you have then is a WAR, in which even more people will be killed. *

So what you are saying is that if a criminal chooses you as a would be victim, it"s best to simply be willingly slaughtered because defending yourself could lead to injury of others? If that works for you, great.

But it does not work for me. Why are you trying to impose your values on others?

[gunownerdan]

animalwoman said:
"..I would never purposely hurt anyone. I''m the last person anyone has to worry about becoming violent."

I feel the same way about myself but unfortunately a lot of sick people out there are exactly the opposite. It is just plain wrong to force good people to be totally defenseless against violent criminals.

[erasmus6]

"I wonder if you could settle the dispute between you and a would be rapist with a gun? You know, the dispute where you don"t want to be raped and the rapist is not taking "no" for an answer? posted by kindrox


If a woman is walking down the street or wherever, the rapist is going to surprise her. He isn''t going to announce, halfway down the street, "hey, I am going to rape you now". That means that unless she is carrying it in her hand, it is VERY UNLIKELY that she is going to get the opportunity to get ahold of that gun. AND if the rapist sees her going for the gun, she could very well end up dead for trying, whereas she may have been able to get away with her life otherwise.

[kindrox]

This forum is completely chock full of morons who say nobody can defend themselves for this and that reason. Idots who don''t have a shred of experiance.

Average people defend themselves EVERY DAY.

http://www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html

[erasmus6]

kindrox

You make yourself look more like an idiot,everytime you post.

[kindrox]

* You make yourself look more like an idiot,everytime you post. *

This day in age, people with the facts are idiots and people with baseless opinions are smart.

What can you do.