9 dead, including killer, in Omaha, NE mall sniper shooting

Five are injured. Two of them are in critical condition. I’m watching the live press conference now.

Here’s a story that gives a general idea of what happened this afternoon at Westroads Mall. So very, very tragic.

Authorities believe the killer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Witnesses described seeing him on the third floor, shooting down to the second floor with a rifle.

Update 1: The story from Fox News’ website says that local station WOWT-TV reported the shooter, a 19 y/o white male, left a suicide note earlier that stated “I’m going out in style.” (h/t: DRJ at Patterico’s blog)

Update 2: Just found the WOWT story here.

13 Responses to "9 dead, including killer, in Omaha, NE mall sniper shooting"

Amy says:

December 5, 2007 at 6:35 pm

9 confirmed dead 1 being the gunman named Robert A Hawkins from Bellevue, NE. And, 5 injured. Suicide note brought in by Robert’s (Robbie) Mother to Sarpy County Police Dept. Sarpy is Bellevue, Douglas County is Omaha. God Bless the victims’ families.
NC Cop says:

December 5, 2007 at 7:26 pm

the shooter, a 19 y/o white male, left a suicide note earlier that stated “I’m going out in style.”

No, son, you did not go out in style. You brought incredible pain and fear to innocent people in the most cowardly way possible. You took loved ones from their families for no reason. May God forgive you.

God be with the families and loved ones of the victims.
Baklava says:

December 5, 2007 at 7:46 pm

In dealing with a psycho myself during these days, it seems laws are too giving to the criminal element.

I know that doesn’t apply to this situation where the individual committed suicide.

I’m just reflecting….
» Sadness in Omaha » Leaning Straight Up » Blog Archive » says:

December 6, 2007 at 5:27 am

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Tom TB says:

December 6, 2007 at 7:50 am

In our not so distant past, we would take the body of a murdering suicide and hang them up and let the crows feed on their bodies as a warning to anyone who would consider the same stunt. We are too sanitized today; this weirdo will get a funeral; people will blame everything but him for his premeditated murder; and his victims won’t get much air time. No matter how wacky these people are, they pick “gun free zones” to carry out their attacks.
PCD says:

December 6, 2007 at 9:33 am

Excuse my lack of enthusiasm for this story. I used to live near the intersection of 118th and Fort in Omaha. My family spent a lot of time at the Westroads mall.

Too bad this cretin can’t be revived and killed 10 times for each of his victim.
Severian says:

December 6, 2007 at 9:46 am

Too bad this cretin can’t be revived and killed 10 times for each of his victim.

I once read a science fiction story where they did just that. They would clone the person, and had a way of transferring your consciousness from to the new body at the time of death. The number and, shall we say, creativity of the deaths were proportional to the crime. One guy was made to go in and clean up his old body as the first thing he did after waking up in the new body, and it got pretty gruesome.

Too bad we don’t have that approach for these animals today.

I’ve just heard that, once again, the mall like Virginia Tech didn’t allow concealed weapon permit holders to carry there. So, target rich environment with no potential for anyone shooting back.
David West says:

December 6, 2007 at 3:58 pm

I live only a couple of miles from where the shootings took place, and I’ve been in the store mentioned.

‘Robbie’ knew exactly where to go to have the best view for his shooting spree. He did it on the day the President was in town, so he would get the most media exposure he could. The lady who turned in the suicide note was not his mother, but a family friend where the kid was staying with her two boys. ‘Robbie’ showed off the SKS rifle to the lady the day before, yet this did not trigger any alerts. He was fired from McDonalds, broke up with his girlfriend, had threatened people before, and was due in court next week for a misdemeanor.

This kid was an obvious walking timebomb, yet no one who knew the kid acted.

The mall had the required no-concealed weapon signs in place. However, it took 6 minutes for the police to arrive. Point is: where was the mall security? It was six minutes for the police, but mall security should have been there in two. Unlike some places, I do believe Westroads Mall security are authorized to carry weapons.

Would have a person who had a concealed pistol been able to take out the assault rifle-wielding shooter in the vantage point he was in, where he could cover the escalator and the elevator at the same time? I believe they could have, and fewer people would have been dead, because he could not see the fire stairway.

Eight innocent people lie dead today because of this rampage. They are dead because the liberal institutions that should have acted didn’t, and could not react when they had to.
Steve Skubinna says:

December 7, 2007 at 5:14 am

The police can’t stop this sort of thing, they can only respond.

Another victory for the gun grabbers. After all, like VT, this was a gun free zone, and the ban was pretty nearly universally effective. The anti-gunners are oblivious to the blood on their hands, from this and many other tragedies.

This reminds me of the scene in Dr. Strangelove, where George C. Scott is defending the screening program for control of nuclear weapons:

“I don’t think it’s fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up.”
PCD says:

December 7, 2007 at 10:47 am

7, David,

I’m not going to blame Mall Security for this tragedy. You think $8 to $10/hour rent-a-cops, who may be armed, are going to tackle a nut with a rifle?

I was outraged listening to one 911 call where the dispatcher did nothing but listen to 19 gun shots. Why the hell wasn’t he trying to get a trace on the call? Why wasn’t the cell phone’s GPS traced?

Also, why did Omaha PD take SIX minutes to arrive? Where were they? At a Runza restaurant??

I really blame the courts and social services department of Nebraska. I know Sen. Kerrey’s sister, Jesse Kerrey Rasmussen screwed up Nebraska’s DHS with tragedy and scandal, but I’m sure the Democrats blocked real reform protecting their union thugs instead of cleaning things up.

I’d better stop here because I’m more than pissed. I know this kid needed help, but families don’t get it because of dumbass Democrats who want to expand government and not solve problems.
Severian says:

December 7, 2007 at 11:06 am

6 minutes is a damned impressive response time, try getting a cop to come out to your house in that amount of time, particularly if you’re in the county. Which is why an armed citizenry is important, and why people should arm themselves. Ultimately, the best you usually can hope for out of the police is that they come in after the fact and clean up the mess and investigate. Most cops I know are good, honest, and caring people who really want to stop crime and protect people, but the simple fact of the matter is there are few of them and a lot of area to cover, they can’t be everywhere.

Ultimately you need to be able to rely on yourself for protection from these types of nut cases and animals. Until every person has a Gort, you’re basically on your own.
PCD says:

December 7, 2007 at 11:33 am

10, Sev, If it were a speeding car on Dodge, OPD would have it nabbed under 6 min.

I don’t think the beat cops were notified immediately because of the dolts manning the dispatch office. There is NO excuse for not expediting a call where you hear gunshots with an echo like that, especially NINETEEN gun shots.

I do agree on people being able to carry to defend themselves. Maybe a brave and well trained armed person could have picked off the kid, but why was he allowed to get to this point with all the contact he had with “social services” and the juvenile courts? That is where corrections have to start so that people aren’t allowed to get to such a point.
Amy says:

December 9, 2007 at 1:01 pm

Here is a little more insight…
In Thursdays OWH there was a story about a 14 year old girl taken out of the same home, where the shooter lived, unconscious from a drug overdose. This young girl is a daughter of a mutual friend, where the young lady now resides in Boys & Girls Town. The woman who took Robert in, would sit around and drink and do drugs with the CHILDREN that she would take in. The evening before the shooting, Robert showed her and her son the rifle. The women, Teresa ( I believe is her name) said to the media, “She thought it was to old to shoot.” My concern now is, is this woman should clearly have charges brought up against her, along with her son, and the friend that Robert visited near Westroads Mall before he went there to commit this horrible crime. As for Omaha Police, I think they did what they could in the time they could do it in. The dispatcher that listened to the 19 gunshots, well I don’t really have anything nice to say about that ————.

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