Shooting At Wash. Mall Kills 1, Wounds 1

Panicked Shoppers Flee As SWAT Teams Lock Down Mall In Search Of Gunman

(CBS/AP)  Shots erupted in a packed Seattle-area shopping mall Saturday after an apparent argument between a gunman and two other young men, killing one of the men, creating panic among shoppers and sending police on a store-to-store search for the shooter, authorities said.

The Southcenter Mall in Tukwila was locked down for six hours as police tried in vain to find the gunman.

Officer Mike Murphy, a police spokesman, told The Associated Press there were "thousands" of shoppers at the mall when the shooting took place just before 3:45 p.m. He said the gunfire may have been gang-related.

"It's a possibility," Murphy said.

The two injured men were taken to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, where one of them died. A hospital spokesman said Saturday night the second victim was in critical condition.

The gunman used a pistol and fired multiple shots, Murphy said.

The gunman and the two victims were all in their late teens or early 20s. No one else was injured, Murphy said.

SWAT teams from all over the area converged on the mall to help search for the suspect, who is believed to have gotten into an altercation with the two victims. But it was unknown what led to the shooting or the relationship between the shooter and the victims or even between the victims themselves.

He said at least four or five people were detained for questioning, but none of them was the shooter and some had been released. He said some of those detained were witnesses.

As police searched for the gunman, they allowed store employees and customers remaining in the mall to exit in groups, Murphy said. After the search was completed, Murphy said the assailant "must have got out with the crowd," but police anticipated identifying the shooter "soon" and making an arrest.

Chauncey Williams, a soldier from Fort Lewis, said he witnessed the shooting. He was exiting a store when he saw two men arguing and one start firing a gun, he said.

"It's like I'm back in Iraq or something," Williams told The Seattle Times.

Eyewitness Melissa Del Toro told CBS Affiliate KIRO that as she was coming from the movie theater towards the food court, “We saw a wave of people coming at us from the center of the mall, sort of like a big giant wave of people screaming.”

Toro said she didn’t realize what was going on, but knew she had to get out. Toro said she ran to a bathroom and gathered in a handicapped stall with about eight adults and two children. She said everyone was huddled in the stall and they were trying to calm the children who were screaming.

Toro said they spent several minutes in the stall before leaving the bathroom.

Jeanette Warren, from KIRO News Radio, said she was shopping when she heard one noise followed by two more gun shots and then was ushered to the back of a store.

“We laid low probably for one minute and were very quiet as we listened for voices telling us it was OK,” Warren said.

She was then escorted out the back door by a store manager into the parking lot.

Warren said people were definitely fearful, especially among the younger people who were separated from their parents or relatives.

Jessie Vanderschauw told KIRO she was shopping inside the Forever 21 store when she heard the gunshots.

"Heard two or three gunshots. It was just 'pop, pop.' Everyone knelt down and hid behind whatever they could. You could see people frantic," she said.

She said employees had shoppers go into the dressing rooms for about 30 minutes before escorting them out.

Shopper Mark Nickels, 51, described the chaos after the shooting.

"Everybody just stopped," he said. "Everybody thought something fell. Then a second or two later, there was a second shot and then everybody scattered. People were running to the (exits) or running to the stores to hide."

The mall will be open regular hours on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

[displeased]

You posted the link but you didn''''''''t look at it. MORON!~ "LOL"
Posted by truthrocks

Judging from your insults and the quality of your posts, it''s obvious who the clueless one is.

[barcar55]

truthrocks....You should come visit the South. Everyone that I know of has a gun. People hunt for food believe it or not. Also it is great protection. Ever had to wait for the police to respond to a 911 call when you are in a desperate situation? Personally I do not own a gun but that is the norm here in Texas.

[barcar55]

autumn987....What trip on you on?

[mikezembill]

These people around this country are shooting the wrong people.

[stupidrules3]

Awwwww. Where did all truthrocks'' posts go?

[reality101a]

***! .. the programmers at cbs need to get this ''post a comment'' thing working right .. sheeesh!!!!

[reality101a]

truthrocks .. OK - So what would be your solution, to ''quickly'' solve the gang/drug/illegal-alien problem?

[reality101a]

truthrocks .. OK - So what would be your solution, to ''quickly'' solve the gang/drug/illegal-alien problem?

[reality101a]

truthrocks .. OK - So what would be your solution, to ''quickly'' solve the gang/drug/illegal-alien problem?

[reality101a]

truthrocks .. Sadly, the idea of ''the powers that be'' in this country actually doing anything to solve these problems, is just a dream :-(
Our downward spiral, to becoming a ***-world country, is pretty much just a matter of ''when'' - not ''if'' :-(

[reality101a]

truthrocks .. LOL - Good point.
The ''indian problem'' was handled, with extreme prejudice, long ago ... So, Yes! It is Now time to handle the illegal-alien/black/mesikin/wigger/drug problem the same way.

[reality101a]

I wonder when, if ever, "The Real People" will demand that "The Powers That Be" do something about these situations??
They Know who and where these vermin are - but for some politically correct BS reason, ''they'' do Nothing :-(
If "Everyone", in any way associated with illegal drugs, was Eliminated from the gene pool, these sorts of things would pretty much cease to occur. ( this includes All gang members - black, mesikan, wiggers, etc - All illegal aliens, And All drug users )

[displeased]

Maybe a shopper was showing off his new gun he bought for Christmas, or maybe the NRA* has opened hunting season for Christmas shoppers a week earlier then usual or maybe it is just the way for Justice Scalia to wish Americans a very merry Christmas%u2026
Posted by JesusEyes

So the NRA is responsible for gang violence, eh? I''m sure these gang members would be home baking cakes if the NRA didn''t exist.

[barbaram99]

It is not the gun that kills but the persons using it, I blame hollywood in a way and the home.The right to bear arms is a right abused. Some are gum crazy. Taking aeay guns won''t help as they will build their own, a person told me.

[barbaram99]

May I remaind everyone that the mall in this story is not in Seattle.I live in Seattle. The hospital is in Seattle where they were taken to. The mall is not,
I read the details on KIRO ,This is sad, Every year at the holidays some one ruins the joy of this season . We stay home. I love to see gangs off the streets. The gangs are running the prisons. America have always had gangs from the start of this nation.
I am appalled that they can get their paws on a gun just to do this, This not what the right to bear arms means, Ye don''t go out killimg persons for the thrill. no. The right to bear arms is abused and this is the reason. Hotheads.

[gatofeo]

An earlier report mentioned shootings at the same mall in 2000 and 2003, yet apparently those never got reported in the national CBS News.
Yet, this one does?
Blatant, anti-gun reporting. I''ve noticed a lot of this lately, with the media reporting any and all kinds of gunplay across the nation for the past year or so.
Previously, you didn''t hear about shootings unless many people were involved.
The media is obviously lapdogging for the Democrats, who will undoubtedly introduce draconian gun control laws -- laws that make anti-gunners feel good but do absolutely nothing to curb crime.
Hey L.A., San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C. and other major cities with horrific crime rates, want to see an effect on crime?
Let law-abiding citizens carry firearms to protect themselves! Time and again, statistics show that when a state allowed concealed carry, crime went down.
Yet, the above cities have the most stringent anti-gun laws in the nation, and the highest crime rates.
Cause and effect: disarm the citizens, make them easy prey for the criminals.
And while you''re at it, ensure the Death Penalty is handed out often and swiftly to killers.
Incidentally, Washington State has a concealed weapon permit system in place. But I''ll bet the mall bans firearms from its property.
Boy, that worked well, didn''t it?

[my2centss]

One more thug gone. Maybe the other will follow, then they will get the shooter. Three gang members off the street. Sounds like a good weekend in Washington.

[pirmin3]

Hey, y''all. I was toyin'' wid da boy an'' he done backed into my gun.

[displeased]

Guns: Can''t go shopping without them...

But really, what is it with these idiiots that they must take out the other person to win an argument? The unstable mentality of these people is scary.

[panhandlpete]

Looks like the shopping malls will need to employ some of the returning soldiers as security guards. After all, they will need jobs when they get to come home.