Trolley Square shootings 2/12/07 Salt Lake City, UT *updated*

Monday night is one of my favorite nights on TV. Yes, I love “24″! However, about 15 minutes or so into it, came Breaking News. I knew it was not good, since I did not think FOX would break into “24″ for no reason. This evening, a gunman entered Trolley Square (a small, downtown Salt Lake mall) and started shooting. Witnesses (and there were plenty–it was a mall) said the shooter was aiming at people, although I do not think there were specific targets. He reloaded (not sure how many times) and kept shooting. There are fatalities, at least one, but I keep hearing that there may be up to 5. The shooter, however, was reportedly killed by an off-duty police officer at the mall for dinner. As I watched the reports on TV, you could see people running from the mall. People were huddled in the backs of stores waiting for the police to finish searching the mall to make sure it was safe. I have a feeling that there are some people still hidden, just wanting to make sure everything was safe. Imagine going out to dinner with your family and then having your waiter shot. That happened in this situation. Several servers from Rodrizio’s (a great Brazilian restaurant) spoke to one of the news channels with their terrifying story, The gunman aimed at one of them and shot, with the bullet grazing his head. He was not even aware that he was shot until he realized that he was bleeding. The gunman then shot at one of the others, but missed.
As calls for help started pouring in, police, fire and rescue started to arrive. There were lines of ambulances waiting outside to take the wounded to hospitals. On TV, all you could see were the lights of the ambulances twirling around.

“There have been multiple victims, and there are some fatalities. … I can’t confirm the number,” Salt Lake City police Detective Robin Snyder said in brief remarks outside Trolley Square. “The suspect has been killed. He is no longer a threat,” Snyder said.

and

An antique-store owner, Barrett Dodds, 29, said he saw a man in a trench coat exchanging gunfire with a police officer outside a card store. The gunman was backed into a children’s clothing store. “I saw the cops go in the store. I saw the shooter go down,” said Dodds, who watched from the second floor.

So far, that is the most concrete information released. Hopefully there will be more information soon. Right now, I am just hoping that (and I know this sounds horrible) no one I know was there at Trolley Square (which is actually a great mall). I feel so very bad for the people involved, and their friends and familes. It will be a tough time for all, especially those who witnessed this heinous situation.

*small update* 6 (including the gunman) confirmed dead now; 3 in hospitals in critical condition; 1 in serious condition

*update Tuesday 2/13 2pm*
Shooter: Sulejmen Talovic 18 years old

Victims:
Jeffrey Walker, 52
Vanessa Quinn
Kirsten Hinckley
Teresa Ellis
Brad Franz

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