Details Emerge On Mall Shooting Victims

A Look At The Men And Women Who Lost Their Lives And The Loved Ones They Left Behind

(CBS/AP)  On Wednesday, 19-year-old Robert A. Hawkins went into an Omaha's Westroads shopping mall and began a shooting rampage that killed eight people, before killing himself. He appeared to fire without apparent motive or specific targets, reports CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds.

The friends and family of those who lost their lives are left to struggle with the shock and sadness of their unexpected loss. Here is look at some of the victims who died in Wednesday's tragedy:

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Gary Scharf was on his way home to Lincoln after a business trip in Iowa when he stopped at the Von Maur store.

"I'm sure he got in front of other people" and took a bullet that might have hit someone else, said his ex-wife, Kim Scharf. "There's no doubt in my mind, I promise you. That's who he is, to a fault."

Scharf, 48, sold agricultural products and was devoted to helping people, she said. Recently he helped a single mom get her car started, then got her address and delivered a package of groceries and blankets to her doorstep, she said.

"I called him my Dudley-do-right," Kim Scharf said. "I'm not kidding. You'd never meet a more honorable and loyal man."

Raised in a small Nebraska town, Gary Scharf graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Kim Scharf said the couple divorced about three years ago, but "he followed me out of divorce court and said we'd remarry in six months." They saw each other every day and were planning to get married.

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Beverly Flynn, a gift wrapper at the Von Maur, also had been a real estate agent for NP Dodge Co. since last year.

Whenever she closed a deal, the 47-year-old Omaha woman planted a rose bush in the yard of the new homeowners as a move-in gift, company spokeswoman Susan Young said.

"That was her way to put her style on the whole transaction," Young said. "She was a very warm individual."

Shot in the chest, Flynn was taken to Creighton University Medical Center, where attempts to resuscitate her failed.

"All we know is that a fine human being has been taken from us prematurely, and that she and the other victims will be greatly missed," said Sandy Dodge, president of NP Dodge, in a letter to employees.

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Angie Schuster had planned to teach elementary school after graduating from college, but when she couldn't find a job in the field, she started working in retail, said her older sister, Donna Kenkel.

Schuster, 36, of Omaha, was a manager in the girls' department at Von Maur, where she had worked for nearly 10 years, Kenkel said. The department is near the third-floor elevator, which Kenkel said meant "she probably didn't have any chance, any warning" against the gunman.

"They said he got off the elevator, and she would have been right there in his way," she said.

The sisters were born 11 months apart and lived about a mile from each other. They last saw each other Sunday, at a child's birthday party at the Omaha zoo.

"She was in a very happy place in her life. She met a man," Kenkel said. "They were so happy."

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Dianne Trent, a store employee, spent warm evenings tending to the flowers on her porch, drinking tea and chatting with her neighbor, Errol Schlenker.

"A very incredibly sweet person," Schlenker said. "She was a middle-of-the-road American, a dedicated worker. She was just a decent person who lived a good life here."

Divorced many years ago and with no children, Trent, 53, lived in a northwest Omaha town house with a small dog and two cats, Schlenker said.

"She called me a couple times when she was afraid of something, when she heard noises outside," he said. "I know she was always concerned about her safety as far as the way things were going in society and being a single woman."

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Janet Jorgensen, a longtime employee in Von Maur's gift department, was popular with co-workers and customers alike, her daughter-in-law said.

Almost everyone who shopped there seemed to know the 66-year-old Omaha woman because of her friendly, outgoing personality, said the daughter-in-law, who didn't want her name used.

Jorgensen, who worked at the store since it opened about a dozen years ago, is survived by a husband, three children and eight grandchildren.

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John McDonald and his wife of 40 years were getting Christmas gifts wrapped at the Von Maur when the shooting started. They tried to hide behind a chair, but he was shot and died before paramedics could reach him, said his wife, Kathy.

"He was one of the greatest people anyone could hope to meet," Kathy McDonald said. "He had a fantastic sense of humor. He was so accepting of people."

The retired couple lived across the Missouri River from Omaha in Council Bluffs, Iowa. John McDonald, 65, loved music, electronics and astronomy, and he played bridge and the guitar.

"They were just nice, ordinary people who didn't deserve this," neighbor Shirley Acebedo said. She said her husband and John McDonald would talk football out in the yard.

"My brother was a gentle soul," recalled P.J. McDonald, a chaplain for the Clive, Iowa Fire and Police Departments. "If there was one thing that would be a characteristic of his it was the fact that he did not like violence."

John McDonald is survived by his wife, two children and seven granddaughters.

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Maggie Webb was new to the Omaha Von Maur store. She transferred there from a Chicago location earlier this year, according to her alma mater, Illinois State University. She graduated in 2005 with a degree in business administration.

Webb, who was about two weeks shy of her 25th birthday, was the youngest victim of Wednesday's shooting rampage.

The Quad-City Times reported that Webb grew up in Illinois and graduated from Moline High School in 2001. She was active in the school dance team and Spanish Club, among other activities.

"One of my staff commented to me about Maggie, saying, 'She was one of the good ones.' They paused, and said, 'No, one of the great ones,"' Moline principal Bill Burrus said.

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Gary Joy loved writing stories and poems and was a devoted son, his 91-year-old mother said.

Inez Joy said her 56-year-old son often dined with her at her Omaha retirement community, most recently at Thanksgiving. "He always came when I needed help," she said.

Gary Joy, a Von Maur employee from Omaha, died before he arrived at a hospital.

"I've been through tragedy before," his mother said. "You hurt. There's not a thing you can do about it."

Joy, who had also lived in Denver, was divorced and had no children. He is survived by his mother and an older brother.

[kindrox]

* CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico %u2014 Authorities in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez said Wednesday that they plan to exhume the remains of more than 4,000 unidentified people buried in common graves and take DNA samples in an attempt to identify them.

Rene Medrano, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state attorney general''''s office, said the bodies were being exhumed because state attorney general Patricia Gonzalez "wants to bring order and clarity to past police practices." *

People would rather 4,000 die, one at a time, then have 10 die at once.

This killing of 10 people is terrible. But to save 10 at the cost of 4,000 is a greater tragidy and a worse crime.

[kesac4650]

The criminal knows that he faces an unarmed public. He knows that there will never be a policeman on hand to prevent his crimes. We have disarmed the good people and will never disarm the bad. If one other person in that mall were armed, the body count might have been lessened. If the criminals know that there is a chance of being met with armed resistance, these crimes will stop.

[omahachic]

To everyone else: Thank you for your thoughts, concern, and prayers. They are deeply needed during this difficult time. Thank you for your support!

[omahachic]

To whomever it was that said, "Does this really deserve front page?"...You are an ***! If I was a coldhearted person I would shootback with "I wish one of the victims was one of your family members" and see if you still think it doesn''t deserve front page. In case you didn''t know, Omaha is in Nebraska, which is in the United States. The United States cares about what happens to there citizens no matter where they live. FYI...8 innocent people lost their lives, five others were shot (2 still in critical condition), and thousands of people had to witness this traumatic massacre. Omaha is always lending a hand rather it be financially, in prayer, or physical work when these things happen elsewhere in the United States. Please give us the respect we deserve during this horrific time in our city. There are millions of other Americans that do care and our saddened with us about this terrible event. We lost several innocent people that didn''t deserve to die. Their families unexpectedly lost loved ones that they will never be able to say goodbye to. Please pray for Omaha and support us right now during this tragedy. Westroads Mall is a gun free zone. He obviously had this all planned out and knew he was gonna shoot himself in the end, so why would he care what kind of law he was breaking? He was depressed, psychotic, and felt unwanted. Please continue to pray for the victims and the city of Omaha as a whole. We appreciate all the support we''ve been given from most of you.

[luvcomments]

mcv57

I am flattered by your attention. Yes, in answer to your question, I am prepared for my death. I may not enjoy the way I die, who will? but I am definitely prepared for my death. I have no fear of death. It is as inevitably a part of our life as is our birth. So, if you feel this means I am "disturbed", that is of no consequence to me. I still find your mindless comment that those victims were not at peace with God to be cruel and ignorant.

[lobo_sa]

incog-nito
Your right. I''m just throwing something out there to think about. I don''t live in Nebraska don''t claim to know anything about their gun laws. I do agree that this guy was suicidal and nothing was going to stop him anyway.

[gunownerdan]

And why aren''t there shootings at gun shows and NRA meetings? At a gun show there can be thousands of guns and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition right in front of everyone.

[incog-nito]

I live in a state that allows concealed weapons and trust me, gun-free zones haven''t stopped anybody from walking in with their concealed weapon. The fact is the guy was suicidal and would not be deterred by the chance that somebody might be packing heat. Also somebody may or may not get the chance to shoot back. This is a non-issue and let''s leave it at that.

[gunownerdan]

Most shopping malls and schools in America are "GUN FREE" zones.
It seems like most mass shootings tend to happen in these places.
Killers prefer unarmed victims.
When a homicidal nutcase decides to murder innocent people, the only thing that can possibly stop them is a responsible armed citizen or security guard.
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
www.a-human-right.com

[mcv57]

LONG LIVE THE WILD, WILD WEST! VIVA LA NORTE AMERICANA!

[refinebyfire]

To the person who questioned this story as being front page news: Being from Omaha myself, I find you to be extremely callus & cold! The reason these stories are front page is to remind us all that the people we love and cherish can be taken from us in a heart beat. It is important to squeeze your mom tight when you see her and to let you husband know how much you care all the time! Government issues are still important, mind you, but they will always be there. We are people who care for others and what happens to them or at least we should be. Seeing these stories should reaffirm the value of life we have. And just maybe seeing this story will change someone%u2019s mind about doing the same.

[mcv57]

luvcomments,
You sound disturb. I did not say they were "not prepared." Let''s pray that they all are. Are you ready, luvcomments, to die tomorrow. Or, are you in so love with this world that you ignore death. Death is a part of life . . . that is all I am saying. I do wish to comdemn, I do not know these people.

All I am saying is everyone should be prepared, let''s not blame someone (the crazies) or something (gun laws) for something that is part of our being. I cherish the U.S. Constitution, no other country on this planet can compare. Let''s not attack that law (although the Bushman violates it), for the sake of fear and anger.

Yes, luvcomments, you must die too. Perhaps by illness, by beating, by shooting, by poisoning, by bombing, by drowning, you will die. I will bit my entire savings on it. YOU WILL DIE; but hopefully not at the expense of the American freedom.

[ubrew12]

gunownerdan said: "Is [my AK-47] defective?" Do more hunting, less shining of your weapons. That''s the problem of America in a nutshell.

[incog-nito]

gunownerdan: Question: Why are you still bashing gun control laws when in fact there is hardly any, especially in Nebraska? You can get just about anything there, conceal it, the works.

[incog-nito]

lobo_SA: FYI: Nebraska already ALLOWS concealed weapons. So what''s your point?

[gunownerdan]

ubrew12, I have had an AK-47 style weapon for years and it has never shot anything but bottles and paper targets. Is mine defective?
The 7.62x39 caliber cartridge is actually quite popular for hunting deer and other game. It''s also much weaker than the typical hunting cartridge.

[incog-nito]

ubrew12: Good point. The reality is that there is ALWAYS some form of gun control. It''s just a matter of degree. Back in the days of the Constitution, the army and civilians have roughly the same armament, i.e. the rifle. If things have remained the same, today''s civilians would be able to buy grenades, rocket launchers, tanks, jets, etc. But of course they can''t. Why? Gun control.

[albruhn1]

We have created our own terrorists in USA. We deserve what we get, pure and simple. It''s time to repent, pure and simple. And, those that don''t, join the crowds of baseless complainers, pure and simple!

[lobo_sa]

I hear sit here and hear many of you howling about gun control and who (not yourself) is or is responsible for what this idiot did. I don''t hear anybody making any suggestions to correct this kind of tragic event from happening again.
What about concealed hand guns has anybody thought about that. What if citizens are allowed to carry a concealed weapon could that have helped...I think so. Even criminals and idiots don''t like thinking that a civilian maybe prepared to defend themselves. I beleive in the right to carry a weapon to defend myself and others. Having been a Marine and ex-law enforcement I have the benefit of training not all are exposed to. But that does not mean it can''t be taught.
What about holding your elected officials responsible for helping these people get the help they need to fit in with the rest of society.
We are slowly but surely eroding our ability to help ourselves and all the griping in the world isn''t going to change that once that happens.
Why don''t you try to come up with ideas to make things better rather than trying to figure out who to blame. I''m disappointed in the lack of common thought and citizen teamwork.
How could we have prevented this tragic event...by the way it was no accident.

[ubrew12]

Last summer, visiting my brother in the Big Island, Hawaii, we got to participate in a bow-hunt of pigs in the area. The hunter got a small female, perfect for eating. I''ve eaten pak in S America (a rodent), crocodile in the Carribean, I''ve even ''hunted'' for human bones in the Philippines (a traitor killed by the resistance during WWII). I''ve shot Prairie Dogs in Colorado, and eaten Alaskan elk, Sierra trout.

No matter what, hunting Americans will keep their hunting rifles, and homeowners will keep responsibly protected handguns. But an AK-47 is designed for just three purposes: to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as cheaply as possible. It''s a ''first strike'' weapon and, as such, has no place in any responsible persons arsenal. Americans, quit shining that ''equalizer'' in your basement, quit waiting for the much-anticipated invasion of the ''coloreds''... get out, greet the sun, and realize that this world is ''kill or be killed'' even if humans were extinct. There''s got to be a better way of living than waiting with one''s arsenal for Armageddon... time''s passing, and children who need our help are slipping between the cracks...