Policemen escort a group of workers and shoppers from the Garden State Plaza mall after a lockdown during police response to reports that a gunman had fired shots in the mall, in Paramus, New Jersey.
PARAMUS: A gunman opened fire in a crowded New Jersey mall late on Monday before killing himself, officials said, sparking a mass evacuation of the complex by police who did not realise he was dead for several hours.
Richard Shoop, 20, shot at least six rounds from a modified rifle seemingly at random and without hitting anyone, before turning the gun on himself in a back area of the mall, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told a news conference early yesterday.
Authorities said Shoop had a history of drug abuse and drug dealing, “which may very well have been the reason why he ultimately chose to do what he did last night,” Molinelli said on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America” programme.
Officials found Shoop’s body in the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus at about 3.20 am EST (0820 GMT).
Molinelli said it appeared Shoop went into the mall with the intention of committing suicide, not to hurt others.
“He left a note,” Molinelli said. “It’s a bit ambiguous. I’m hesitant to say it’s a suicide note. It does express that an end is coming. It could have been prison. It could have been what he did last night.”
Shoop used a rifle that had been modified to look like an AK-47 and that he had stolen from his brother, who owned it legally, Molinelli said.
Police had evacuated thousands of people from the mall and launched a manhunt after shoppers reported hearing gunshots sometime after 9 pm EST, said Jeanne Baratta, chief of staff for Bergen County.
The Garden State Plaza mall, owned by Australia’s Westfield Group, is one of five large malls in Paramus, located about 20 miles northwest of New York City.
REUTERS
