A masked gunman opened fire at an Oregon shopping mall Tuesday. Three people, including the gunman, are dead, authorities said. Gunfire erupted at the Clackamas Town Center mall outside Portland shortly before 4 p.m. PST.
[Update 9:39 p.m.]
The gunman died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Clackamas County Sheriff's Sgt. Adam Phillips said. He did not release the identity of either the shooter or the victims. Law enforcement did not fire any shots during the incident, he said.
[Update 8:40 p.m. ET]
Witness Kira Rowland told CNN's Anderson Cooper she was with her infant in the Macy's cosmetics area when the shooting broke out. She estimated she heard about 25 shots fired.
"I can't help but think that if I hadn't stopped to smell that perfume, maybe me and my baby wouldn't be here today," she said, her voice breaking.
[Update 8:35 p.m. ET]
Clackamas County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. James Rhodes said the shooter and two victims were dead and only one person was injured.
He said nearly 100 officers from several agencies were on the scene, searching the mall and controlling the crime scene.
"Where it began specifically in the mall I don't know," he said.
Rhodes asked witnesses to call or come to the sheriff's office to describe what they saw.
Cell phone service was overwhelmed by the volume of calls, he said, and asked people seeking information to be patient.
"I heard something similar to a .22 popping, probably eight times," witness Christina Fisher told CNN affiliate KOIN. She said people dropped to the floor and cooperate with one another to get to safety. She said she was about to leave through the Sears store, but then police blocked the doors.
[Update 8:28 p.m. ET] Witnesses and others near the scene were tweeting about their experiences.
Well, I'm alive, but the shots were close enough that I felt the air pressure change on my neck. Clackamas Town Center.
—
Bill Cameron (@bcmystery) December 11, 2012In the mall hiding in the back room. There was a shooting at clackamas. Through the window literally 15 feet in front of us. #terrified
—
Jenna Hope (@jennahopeee) December 11, 2012[Update 8:22 p.m. ET]
Witness Holli Bautista told CNN's Anderson Cooper she saw people ducking for cover in the mall's food court. She said she was not able to leave the mall parking lot because police were blocking the exits and that people were still locked inside the mall itself. Bautista said she heard about 10 shots fired and that several triage centers had been set up.
"I'm terrified. It's scary," she said. "... My thoughts and prayers are with anyone who's injured."
[Update 8:19 p.m. ET]
"Multiple victims" have been shot, said Public Safety Director Steve Campbell of the city of Happy Valley.
[Posted 8:11 p.m. ET]
A witness told CNN affiliate KOIN she saw a man running through the mall wearing a hockey goalie mask and carrying an assault rifle.
Clackamas County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. James Rhodes said one person was killed, and possibly more. He said the shooter had been "neutralized," but did not clarify what that means.
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we are the only creatures in the universe that cause unimaginable suffering
Great white sharks.
King cobras.
Flesh-eating bacteria.
However, I agree with you that they can't make guns.
This type of violent behaviour has become much too common during the past fifty years.
There are many forces in the USA's social structure that drive the breakdown of respect for legal authority and for human life.
Failure to become educated, an increased abdication of thinking because of computer dependency, a loss of aspiration to excellence, and an absurd assumption of ent-
itlement to food and shelter are among these forces.
The NRA is not the problem.
Couldnt have anything to do w/ the fact that absolutely NO ONE has addressed gun laws in our crazy a$$ Country huh?
There may be many people who are or are not able to think or behave properly because of various reasons including those you mentioned. But it is not practical to control those factors.
The government makes laws where I can't hunt, fish or pretty much anything else without a license, which I need to pay money for. If I don't have a job how can I pay money for the RIGHT to hunt and fish and feed myself? You can't just walk out and fish anymore in this country!
Yeah......We got crazys here too. We had good police etc response. Shooter was "neutralized" whatever that means! Could have been a lot worse!
Police defined "Neutralized" as deceased.
I hope no one was injured.
Sadly, there were!
Death is not an injury?
Guess not...
New gun laws / controls have GOT to be discussed ASAP! No stupid responses about cars or knives,,,Nothing even REMOTELY compares to as much simple power in the hands of a looney as a gun.
What ARE you babbling on about now? The Mall was a gun free zone. No guns allowed. TOTAL ban.
Maybe it's just me but I think the police and government should possibly get involved and tell people not to do things like this anymore. Especially at holiday time. Maybe a public service announcement or something. Someone needs to tell bad people to just stop it.
@ Emma:
You're very funny, ha ha.
No gun law could have stopped this degenerate! He just walked in masked and opened up...Some 60 rounds were fired...during the ordeal.
Probably next election should have a choice for the gun control too.
Keep it serious.
Y'all are putting too much "X" into Christmas.
Sad but true and that has been happening more and over the last several decades. And we a surprised by the results?
A nut case like this shooter will get a gun regardless of any laws in effect.
The bad guys and the...sanity-challenged will always have guns.
Don't take mine away.
I checked and this story is false. That mall was a gun free zone. So, no guns...
That is the reason I never go anyplace that is a gun free zone. Only the nutcases and criminals break the law. If its illegal to carry I simply will not patronize that establishment. Too many unstable people nowadays.
Thats a nice candid response – sounds like you put a lot of effort into that one.
Could you rather offer some more realistic solutions to such a terrible epidemic we have in our Country? Maybe something like a heavier police presence at "gun free zones"?
its hatred, anger, paranoias, many other mental and psychological conditions and the loss of respect towards the law and to each other that cause all these tragedies, its not guns.
This story is obviously a hoax. The mall was a gun free zone. Guns were not allowed.
With all the gun already in the country, even if they were "outlawed", I don't think you could every get them all back. Plus if you make them illegal, then you just create an even bigger black market. I don't know what the answer is, I don't think either side has the solution yet.
This is story is not a hoax. Too many innocent people, young old and in the middle are now forever traumatized, lives were lost. Watching and waitng to find out if friends are ok is not a joke. My heart goes out to all affected – the ones there (and sitll there waiting to be let out of the mall) the response teams, our community...This is a place where my own children go to meet friends a place where they have always felt safe.. that security is now tainted by the act of a sick person.
I own a gun, it's at my house. No one could ever realistically argue for the abolishment of all guns, or to revoke the right of approved individuals to own one (or more).
But it's also ludicrous too keep arguing that we should not take any other measures in order to prevent these types of (terrorist) attacks.
We are a Nation full of smart people – we need to start coming up w/ these ideas / policies ourselves b/c our leaders have failed us.