Cebu_4_2
5th November 2013, 03:37 AM
Suspected gunman found dead at New Jersey mall
By Daniel Arkin, Becky Bratu and Alexander Smith, NBC News
A suspected gunman was found dead early Tuesday after at least six shots were fired at a New Jersey mall, police said.
The body of 20-year-old Richard Shoop was discovered in an under-construction area of the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J., at around 3:20 a.m. ET, according to officials.
All smiles, how nice.
http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/131105-njshooting-5a.380;380;7;70;0.jpg
Julio Cortez / AP
Two women walk in the parking lot of the Garden State Plaza Mall in the wake of Monday's shooting.
Authorities said a gunman had fired at least six rounds after entering the complex at around 9:20 p.m. ET on Monday. Thousands of shoppers fled the building but no injuries were reported.
Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told The Associated Press that Shoop, who was from Teaneck, N.J., killed himself with the same weapon which he fired in the mall.
Paramus Police Department Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said Shoop had stolen the firearm, a modified gun which looked like an AK-47, from his brother.
Ehrenberg said early estimates suggested at least 400 people had been locked into stores in the 2.5 million square-foot shopping center.
http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/131104-paramus-mall-aerials-11p.380;380;7;70;0.jpg
NBC New York
Police surround the Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J., after reports of a shooting on Monday.
He told a press conference early Tuesday that officials were still doing a store-by-store search to get people out of the building. The operation could continue for the "rest of the night," Ehrenberg said.
Earlier, witnesses told how a man dressed in all black, wearing a helmet and armed with an assault rifle had opened fire inside the mall.
Clarice Forbes, who works at the Talbots store, told NBC New York (http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Gunman-Garden-State-Plaza-Mall-Paramus-New-Jersey-Police-230593611.html)that she spotted the gunman as he appeared to fire his rifle into the air.
“When he walked past our store, he looked directly in the store and strolled past,” Forbes said. “It was very, very terrifying.”
She added: "There were so many thoughts going through my head. I was so scared."
More than 500 law enforcement units from local, county and state agencies swarmed the scene after initial reports of multiple shots fired, police said.
http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/131104-paramus-mall-shooting-1029p.380;380;7;70;0.jpg
NBC New York
Police respond to reports of a shooting at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J., on Monday.
Officials said the mall would be closed Tuesday. There are more than 200 stores and 50 restaurants inside the complex.
Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, the most populous county in New Jersey and roughly 20 miles southwest of Manhattan.
The incident comes two months after a group of al Qaeda-linked militants launched an attack on a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, that killed 67 people.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Alexander Smith reported from London.
By Daniel Arkin, Becky Bratu and Alexander Smith, NBC News
A suspected gunman was found dead early Tuesday after at least six shots were fired at a New Jersey mall, police said.
The body of 20-year-old Richard Shoop was discovered in an under-construction area of the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J., at around 3:20 a.m. ET, according to officials.
All smiles, how nice.
http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/131105-njshooting-5a.380;380;7;70;0.jpg
Julio Cortez / AP
Two women walk in the parking lot of the Garden State Plaza Mall in the wake of Monday's shooting.
Authorities said a gunman had fired at least six rounds after entering the complex at around 9:20 p.m. ET on Monday. Thousands of shoppers fled the building but no injuries were reported.
Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told The Associated Press that Shoop, who was from Teaneck, N.J., killed himself with the same weapon which he fired in the mall.
Paramus Police Department Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said Shoop had stolen the firearm, a modified gun which looked like an AK-47, from his brother.
Ehrenberg said early estimates suggested at least 400 people had been locked into stores in the 2.5 million square-foot shopping center.
http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/131104-paramus-mall-aerials-11p.380;380;7;70;0.jpg
NBC New York
Police surround the Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J., after reports of a shooting on Monday.
He told a press conference early Tuesday that officials were still doing a store-by-store search to get people out of the building. The operation could continue for the "rest of the night," Ehrenberg said.
Earlier, witnesses told how a man dressed in all black, wearing a helmet and armed with an assault rifle had opened fire inside the mall.
Clarice Forbes, who works at the Talbots store, told NBC New York (http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Gunman-Garden-State-Plaza-Mall-Paramus-New-Jersey-Police-230593611.html)that she spotted the gunman as he appeared to fire his rifle into the air.
“When he walked past our store, he looked directly in the store and strolled past,” Forbes said. “It was very, very terrifying.”
She added: "There were so many thoughts going through my head. I was so scared."
More than 500 law enforcement units from local, county and state agencies swarmed the scene after initial reports of multiple shots fired, police said.
http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/131104-paramus-mall-shooting-1029p.380;380;7;70;0.jpg
NBC New York
Police respond to reports of a shooting at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J., on Monday.
Officials said the mall would be closed Tuesday. There are more than 200 stores and 50 restaurants inside the complex.
Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, the most populous county in New Jersey and roughly 20 miles southwest of Manhattan.
The incident comes two months after a group of al Qaeda-linked militants launched an attack on a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, that killed 67 people.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Alexander Smith reported from London.