Omaha NE mall shooting - JUST THE FACTS PLEASE

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The other thread has so much banter that it's basically lost and needs a lock.

Please post just the facts here, please include links and quotes if possible of where the info came from. Please keep the speculation and banter and divergent talk to another thread.

Thank you.

To start this new "clean" thread off I'll post this from the local to here jsonline.com newspaper page: Original link to this one came from www.jsonline.com
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MALL_SHOOTING?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

JS ONLINE: NEWS:

Dec 6, 9:06 AM EST

Mall gunman made call about suicide note

By OSKAR GARCIA
Associated Press Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Less than an hour before he killed eight people and himself in a mall shooting spree, a troubled teenage gunman called the woman who had taken him in to tell her about a suicide note - but she said Thursday she never thought he would hurt anyone but himself.

Debora Maruca-Kovac told CBS's "The Early Show" she found the note after Robert A. Hawkins, 19, called to thank her and her family for their help, to express his love, and to tell her he had left the note behind.

"He had said how much he loved his family and all his friends and how he was sorry he was a burden to everybody and his whole life he was a piece of (expletive) and now he'll be famous," she said, describing the note. "I was fearful that he was going to try to commit suicide but I had no idea that he would involve so many other families."

Hawkins carried out his shooting spree from the third floor of the Westroads Mall, ...

The shooting came after a series of troubling events in his life: He had split with his girlfriend and lost his job. He had a criminal record and had left or been kicked out of his parents' house.

Police Chief Thomas Warren said the shooting appeared to be random and that the dead included five females and four males, including the gunman.

...

...

Hawkins moved from his family's home about a year ago. Maruca-Kovac and her husband, whose sons were friends with Hawkins, welcomed him into their home and tried to help him.

"When he first came in the house, he was introverted, a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted," Maruca-Kovac told The Associated Press.

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 had recently broken up with a girlfriend and was fired from McDonald's. She told the World-Herald that Hawkins said he had been fired after being accused of stealing $17 from his till at the restaurant. McDonald's management declined to comment to the newspaper.

Maruca-Kovac 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. More ominously, he wrote, "Now I'll be famous."

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

The first 911 call came in at 1:42 p.m., and the shooting was already over when police arrived six minutes later, authorities said.

...

Hawkins opened fire in a Von Maur store, part of a Midwestern chain. The World-Herald reported that the gunman had a military-style haircut and a black backpack, and wore a camouflage vest.

...

...

Keith Fidler, another Von Maur employee, said he heard a burst of five to six shots followed by 15 to 20 more rounds. Fidler said he huddled in the corner of the men's clothing department with about a dozen other employees until police yelled to get out of the store.

...

...

Nebraska Medical Center spokeswoman Andrea McMaster said the hospital had three victims from the mall shooting, including Fred Wilson, 61, who was in critical condition early Thursday with a bullet wound to his chest.

Another critically wounded victim was at Creighton University Medical Center, spokeswoman Lisa Stites said.

...

...

...

The sprawling, three-level mall has more than 135 stores and restaurants. It gets 14.5 million visitors every year, according to its Web site.

...
...

---

Associated Press writers Josh Funk, Timberly Ross and Eric Olson in Omaha and Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
Click to expand...

(I've stripped out extra text to try and stay within copyright rules. Deleted paragraphs are denoted with "...")
 
From National Public Radio, December 6th, 2007:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16961899

*************************************

Omaha Gunman Had Lost Job, Girlfriend

Witnesses to the shooting at the Von Maur store in Omaha, Neb., stand outside the mall on Wednesday. AP

NPR.org, December 6, 2007 · A 19-year-old male who had recently lost his job and his girlfriend, opened fire on Christmas shoppers at an Omaha, Nebraska, mall — killing eight people and wounding five others before turning an assault rifle on himself.

Wearing a camouflage vest and a black backpack, Robert A. Hawkins began firing as shoppers and employees at the Westroads Mall scrambled for cover in dressing rooms, clothing racks, offices and storage areas.

Hawkins had recently split with his girlfriend and been fired from a job at McDonald's. He had a criminal record and had been kicked out of his parents' house.

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."

Police Chief Thomas Warren said the shooting appeared to be random and that the dead included five females and four males, including the gunman. Warren promised more details in a news conference scheduled for Thursday morning.

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.

"When he first came in the house, he was introverted, a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted," Maruca-Kovac told The Associated Press.

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. More ominously, he wrote, "Now I'll be famous."
 
So far, that is the basic story. Disgruntled, troubled guy, no family etc. commits a brutal selfish act for his glory.
 
You might say that the other thread was a bunch of banter. That is true, but the thread developed while the information was being reported not long after the event. Context is important. The above pretty much summarizes my take on the event. The type of rifle was not reported yet to my knowledge.
 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071206/ap_on_re_us/mall_shooting
As of 9:30am CST...
Mall gunman made call about suicide note

By OSKAR GARCIA, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 25 minutes ago

OMAHA, Neb. - Less than an hour before he killed eight people and himself in a mall shooting spree, a troubled teenage gunman called the woman who had taken him in to tell her about a suicide note — but she said Thursday she never thought he would hurt anyone but himself.

Debora Maruca-Kovac told CBS's "The Early Show" she found the note after Robert A. Hawkins, 19, called to thank her and her family for their help, to express his love, and to tell her he had left the note behind.

"He had said how much he loved his family and all his friends and how he was sorry he was a burden to everybody and his whole life he was a piece of (expletive) and now he'll be famous," she said, describing the note. "I was fearful that he was going to try to commit suicide but I had no idea that he would involve so many other families."

Hawkins carried out his shooting spree from the third floor of the Westroads Mall, the bullets from his rifle cutting through the sound of Christmas music as he terrorized shoppers and employees.

The shooting came after a series of troubling events in his life: He had split with his girlfriend and lost his job. He had a criminal record and had left or been kicked out of his parents' house.

Police Chief Thomas Warren said the shooting appeared to be random and that the dead included five females and four males, including the gunman.

Investigators plan to examine text messages sent between Hawkins and his girlfriend, as well as his computer's hard drive for any Internet communications that could explain how he plotted the shootings, Warren told CNN.

The names of the victims were not released, but officials planned to provide more details in a news conference Thursday morning. Churches in the area were setting up vigils to pray for survivors and remember the dead.

Hawkins moved from his family's home about a year ago. Maruca-Kovac and her husband, whose sons were friends with Hawkins, welcomed him into their home and tried to help him.

"When he first came in the house, he was introverted, a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted," Maruca-Kovac told The Associated Press.

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 had recently broken up with a girlfriend and was fired from McDonald's. She told the World-Herald that Hawkins said he had been fired after being accused of stealing $17 from his till at the restaurant. McDonald's management declined to comment to the newspaper.

Maruca-Kovac 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. More ominously, he wrote, "Now I'll be famous."

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

The first 911 call came in at 1:42 p.m., and the shooting was already over when police arrived six minutes later, authorities said.

"We sent every available officer in the city of Omaha," Sgt. Teresa Negron said.

Hawkins opened fire in a Von Maur store, part of a Midwestern chain. The World-Herald reported that the gunman had a military-style haircut and a black backpack, and wore a camouflage vest.

Mickey Vickory, who worked in the store's third-floor service department, said she heard shots and went with coworkers and customers into a back closet, emerging about a half-hour later when police shouted to come out with their hands up. As police led them to another part of the mall for safety, they saw the victims.

"We saw the bodies and we saw the blood," she said.

Keith Fidler, another Von Maur employee, said he heard a burst of five to six shots followed by 15 to 20 more rounds. Fidler said he huddled in the corner of the men's clothing department with about a dozen other employees until police yelled to get out of the store.

Witness Shawn Vidlak said the shots sounded like a nail gun. At first he thought it was noise from construction work at the mall.

"People started screaming about gunshots," Vidlak said. "I grabbed my wife and kids. We got out of there as fast as we could."

Nebraska Medical Center spokeswoman Andrea McMaster said the hospital had three victims from the mall shooting, including Fred Wilson, 61, who was in critical condition early Thursday with a bullet wound to his chest.

Another critically wounded victim was at Creighton University Medical Center, spokeswoman Lisa Stites said.

On Wednesday night, police used a bomb robot to access a Jeep Cherokee left in the mall parking lot that authorities believe belonged to Hawkins. Officers had seen some wires under some clothing, but no bomb was found.

President Bush was in Omaha on Wednesday for a fundraiser, but left about an hour before the shooting.

"Having just visited with so many members of the community in Omaha today, the president is confident that they will pull together to comfort one another," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

The sprawling, three-level mall has more than 135 stores and restaurants. It gets 14.5 million visitors every year, according to its Web site.

It was the second mass shooting at a mall this year. In February, nine people were shot, five of them fatally, at Trolley Square mall in Salt Lake City. The gunman, 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic, was shot and killed by police.

The shooting spree was Nebraska's deadliest since January 1958, when Charles Starkweather killed 10 people in Nebraska and another in Wyoming.
Click to expand...
 
The World-Herald reported that the gunman had a military-style haircut and a black backpack, and wore a camouflage vest.
Click to expand...
Perhaps a permit should be required for haircuts, vests and backpacks. Would have done about as much to stop these kind of nuts as the current laws do.
 
Live press conference on Foxnews.com the Cheif of Police just stated that the weapon used was an AK
 
Never mind, the Chief is uninformed. Now he stated it was an SKS that shots 7.66 caliber.
 
In spite of the police chief's ignorance of firearms, I'm more apt to think it was an SKS, not an AK. Why? Assuming it hasn't been Tapcoized, the SKS doesn't look like an AK, especially with low-cap mags. Had the SKS been Tapcoized, with folding stock, pistol grip, 30-rd mags, etc etc, it'd look kind of similar, maybe kinda in a way like an AK. Maybe. From 20 yards away. To the untrained eye.

If it was an AK-style rifle, we would've heard about it yesterday since it is quite distinct and has a negative reputation. Someone would've leaked such info.
 
There is a doctor that was on CNN talking about how "this assault rifle doesn't just leave normal bullet wounds, it also creates damage with a blast wave". I'm guessing a call for banning of all "blast wave" bullets will be held shortly.
 
Glorifying and reporting on things like this need to stop.. the Driveby media will harp on it for a week easy...This in itself gives these suicidal maniacs the power they need to convey their message(Whatever that is). I wonder how many murders there was in LA yesterday..Ill bet 6 or more in one day...

Media is a root cause of things like this happening...
 
Not to be sick , but the bodies aren't even cold yet and antis are already jumping on this .

Posted By:Jenny at December 6, 2007 10:27 AM (Suggest Removal)
Once again. Guns continue to kill. They need to be banned

Posted By:DK at December 6, 2007 10:50 AM (Suggest Removal)
As long as unstable whack jobs like this kid continue to get the media sensationalization they crave, we will continue to see others similarly destined to 'go out in a blaze' repeat this type of senseless tragedy. I agree w/ Jenny. The 2nd Amendment neo-cons, and the political lobby groups like the NRA that enable them, need to be reined in so that effective gun control restrictions can be enacted, as other countries have successfully done to help prevent incidents like this. It's the only way we'll be protected from the lethal mixture of the mentally unstable having easy access to guns; having nothing to lose and only a destiny 'to be famous' after they randomly kill as many innocents as they can, before cowardly taking their own life. What a waste.
Click to expand...

This comes from the comment section of a local rag (can't post a link , subscription to read comments) . I know we'll hear/see much more of this type of stuff , but from what I've seen , there seems to be more pro gun/rights comments . Maybe people are finally waking up to the fact that people like Hawkins are going to do what they intended regardless of laws , and maybe one way to prevent it is to not take ones ability for defense away . We'll see .
 
Don't know if many FACTS are going to be presented for awhile. I know that I've seen the shooter's age change from 17 to 19, and the rifle used from an SKS with high caps to now an AK with "SKS 7.66mm ammunition."

Time will tell.

jm
 
Not to be a contrarian but stewing over the definition of an assault weapon is really meaningless in today's world. The term has been used for semiauto versions of military guns so often that you are spitting in the wind.

If someone has a bias such that they feel that you shouldn't own a military derivative gun, then arguing that it isn't an assault rifle won't help you. Nor will anyone outside of gun afficiandos or knowledgeable gun banners care.

It's like the clips and magazine debate. Angels on the head of a pin because the common usage has overriden the technical distinctions beloved by the cognoscenti.

The shooter is a textbook case of such folks. If you want to make an argument against gun banning, the terminology usage isn't going to help you. Pointing out that it isn't fully auto is useful and that there are only cosmetic differences between an AR-15 or a Mini-14 as compared to firepower might be useful. However, that distinction leads to folks wanting to ban the Ruger also.
 
Facts? Here are some from the Fox News article.... within a couple of paragraphs of each other:

OMAHA, Neb. — A teenage gunman carried his AK-47 into a Nebraska department store, took the elevator up to the third floor and immediately opened gunfire on innocent customers and store employees, officials said Thursday............


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.
Click to expand...

Yeah, plenty of facts.
 
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