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Mall Shooting
From Komo 4 News Seattle
Hostages Safe, Man Arrested After Mall Shooting
November 20, 2005
By KOMO Staff & News Services
TACOMA[, WA] - A shooting spree that left six people injured and threw a busy shopping mall into chaos Sunday ended more than three hours later with three hostages released and the suspected shooter arrested.
A man walked into the Tacoma Mall just after noon and began firing shots at random before taking three hostages, two men and a woman, inside a Sam Goody record store, Tacoma Police officials said.
The gunman came out of the record store without a gun and surrendered to the SWAT team, said Mark Fulghum, a spokesman for Tacoma Police. No shots were fired when the man emerged shortly before 4 p.m. The hostages were released safely.
"The suspect is in custody, all three hostages are out of the business," Fulghum said
He said officials would not likely release the man's identity or any other details Sunday night.
Fire official Jon Lendosky said authorities got a call about 12:15 p.m. that shots had been fired inside the Tacoma mall. He said six people were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries. He could not discuss their injuries.
At least one person was in critical condition and two were in satisfactory at Tacoma General Hospital, said hospital spokesman Todd Kelley.
Inside a Sam Goody store at the mall, the gunman held three people hostage as negotiators tried to talk to him.
"We're being held hostage," said Joe Hudson, who answered the phone and identified himself to The Associated Press as an employee at the store.
One man said the weapon used by the shooter was an AK-5 rifle.
Susan Serdeau said her daughter, Kathy Riggans, 24, is a manager at Sam Goody. Serdeau called her at the store when she heard shots had been fired at the mall.
"She was upset and scared. She was crying," Serdeau said, standing in a parking lot across the street from the mall, crying and hugging her terrier, Dottie. "All she would say was that she was OK."
After the hostages were released, Serdeau cried with relief.
"I'm going to give her a big hug and tell her how much we love her. I'm just happy she's OK. It's been nerve-racking, very nerve-racking."
Stacy Wilson, 29, of Bonney Lake, was walking from J.C. Penney to Macy's when she heard a popping noise.
"I thought a kiosk was falling over." She turned around and "I saw the gunman randomly shooting. I ran with a group of women to Victoria's Secret." She said they all crouched behind a wall in the store, and when the shooting stopped an employee ran out and closed a security gate at the front.
Wilson said she heard about 15 to 20 shots.
"He was walking backward and shooting. I couldn't see his face," Wilson said. "Everyone was running and screaming."
The mall was locked down with shoppers and store clerks still inside. An exit off Interstate 5 to the mall was closed.
Betz Dejarnatt, who works at the J.C. Penney inside the mall, said she heard at least three shots fired.
"I thought, 'That sounds like a gun," Dejarnatt said in a telephone interview with the AP. She said workers and shoppers were herded into dressing rooms and offices, then police had them file outside to a parking lot.
"I was in close proximity when I heard what sounded like rapid gun fire," witness Dale Thompson said. "It was definitely a semi-automatic weapon (and from the sound) there was only one shooter.
"I felt the concussion from the gunfire and immediately took cover under a table. Right about that time, security and employees with JC Penney had everyone take cover in storage rooms for about 15-20 minutes, then we were told to evacuate the store," he said.
"I was walking down toward Macy's and heard the shots," said Stacy Wilson. "I turned around and saw the man with a gun shooting behind him and then so I ran into a store and hid behind a wall with some other ladies and they shut the gates on us until the police came over and escorted us out."
Thompson said the evacuation was fast and controlled. "I didn't' see a whole lot of panic, but here were a few that were disturbed about it," he said. "I think the employees and security personnel at JC Penneys and the mall did an excellent job making sure that people were taken care of."
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