Eight Victims and Suicidal Gunman Die in Nebraska Mall (VIDEO)

President George W. Bush, visited Omaha earlier on Wednesday morning, he had left the city hours before the incident.

(OMAHA, Nebraska) - Police in Omaha, Nebraska say a 19-year-old man opened fire with a rifle in a crowded shopping center today, killing eight Christmas shoppers before taking his own life. It happened in Omaha's Westroads Mall.

Topix.com reports that the shooter from Sarpy County left a suicide note saying, "I'm going out in style." Nebraska television station KETV identified the dead assailant as 19-year old Robert Hawkins.

Witnesses told TV reporters a frightening story. Two women were shopping together when they narrowly averted personal tragedy. One woman said, "I was standing near the escalator and we heard loud booms. I don't think anybody believed they were gunshots. We hid out in a clothes rack."

The witness told the station that 35-40 shots rang out. "They were just echoing through the whole thing. And on our way out we did see somebody down by the escalator, bleeding."

Her friend said it was a tense ordeal, "Well I heard the popping sound, so I said 'Jenny, are those gunshots?' And she said, 'yeah, come on' so we ran and we hid out until the police were coming through and we had to put up our hands and follow the police through to the outside."

The woman said she felt very fortunate to be alive, "You know, you're in such shock, and I just kept hoping that God would spare us."

Other witnesses reported hiding in bathrooms, closets and even under racks of clothes. Victims were shot point-blank, another struck in the top of the head from a third-floor balcony, according to those who survived. A number of victims were in line to have gifts wrapped at the upscale department store Von Maur.

One witness at JC Pennys told police that the gunman rushed past her with a very large rifle which reportedly was an M16. She said the man behaved in a bizarre manner and shot all the stuffing out of a teddy bear.

The shooter, Robert Hawkins, has had a recent brush with the law; arrested last month on an open container of alcohol charge. He reportedly said he was from Bellevue, Nebraska, but was actually living in Quail Creek, near Omaha.

KETV also said that a man who describing himself as a friend of Hawkins, said the deceased shooter had moved from one low-wage job to another, and was taking prescription medication for depression, as well as being involved in other unhealthy behavior.

KETV said Hawkins had been arrested in the past month on minor charges, including having an open container of alcohol and delinquency.

President George W. Bush, visited Omaha earlier on Wednesday morning, he had left the city hours before the incident.

This video has no audio, but it shows people emerging from the mall where the fatal shooting occurred.

This clip from KETV and CNN shows more witnesses describing the shooting scene at Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska.

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Jefferson December 8, 2007 10:59 am (Pacific time)

Regarding all the anti-2nd Amendment legislation past, present and proposed who have been the sponsers VIC? Liberal moonbats who simply avoid all the data that demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt that gun crime goes down in those area's that have CHL's and that firearm accidents diminish when children (and adults) are schooled with safety traing, e.g. NRA trainers and others appropriately qualified. The democrats will never give up in their attempt to demolish the 2nd Amendment (and the 1st also, please note Henry's insults to those with different viewpoints!). Just compare Washington DC with Vermont, or even Oregon. Elected Liberals come in a variety of packages, so to speak, but they seem to act monolithically (not all, especially just before election time!!) in some area's that simply go against common sense, and statistical facts! Over 100,000 CHL's have been issued in Oregon and the revocation rate is statistically nil and their crime rate is below any other group, including law enforcement. So why are the liberal moonbats trying to disarm us? Look to Henry's ramblings about economic socialism and how these anti-capitalist's intend to secure power...It's so unfortunate the vast majority of you have not been educated about Russian history going back to 1917, and what FDR and Truman allowed to infect our government with, and that infection is still spreading, especially in our public educational system. Did you know that over 70% of urban 4th graders cannot pass a simple age-related reading test? WHY?! It's getting worse, so you are developing a constantly growing population who are incapable of thinking critically and that is what the socialist's and their water-carriers want! Just listen to them and read what they write: It always ends up back in the same place...they know what's best for you, the individual is stupid and is not to be trusted to make the right decision, you know, it takes a village and the socialist's create the laws for you to go by. If you abberate from those guidelines then what happens? Well Stalin addmitted to killing over 30 million of his citizens, though some have pegged the number at over 54 million. How many times does 6 million go into 54 million? I'm sure the Russian people going back over 90 years did not believe the warnings they received, ergo, that's why the teaching of history has been manipulated to avoid exposing the evil that resides among us. Look and listen!

Vic December 7, 2007 6:25 am (Pacific time)

Barney..the liberals I know are all heavily armed and are rabid about their right to have guns. In fact the most devout gun owners I know got them to defend against the govt.., not gays, illegals or other right wing fear factors. So I wouldnt say that gun haters are necessarily liberals. However, the term "liberal" , like the term "Christian" is often misrepresented by folks who really are not.

Neal Feldman December 6, 2007 7:45 am (Pacific time)

How long til they blame video games instead of blaming the crazed whackjob? Ah well...

reality queen December 6, 2007 5:22 am (Pacific time)

to the editor: Don't apologize for doing your job!

reality queen December 6, 2007 1:38 am (Pacific time)

nice, get over it. That's exactly what happened. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. The video shows reality what occurred and the the la la world you live in. Tired of this political correct bull. Guns don't kill people, people kill people.

non-Christian December 5, 2007 10:20 pm (Pacific time)

What is the basis for saying that all the people who were killed were shopping for Christmas items? That's pretty presumptuous. (But then, Christians seem to get that way this time of year. :-{ )

anon December 5, 2007 9:27 pm (Pacific time)

"...said the deceased shooter had moved from one low-wage job to another, and was taking prescription medication for depression, as well as being involved in other unhealthy behavior." Using prescribed medicine to control depression is not an unhealthy behavior. Changing jobs more than once, no matter what the level of wages, is not necessarily unhealthy behavior either. Please do not cast them as such.

Editor December 5, 2007 7:58 pm (Pacific time)

We mistakenly used a video clip earlier that had profane language cg'd across the bottom. We sincerely regret the oversight and the clip was immediately removed.

nice December 5, 2007 7:48 pm (Pacific time)

your first youtube video is extreely disrespectful. shame on you

barney December 5, 2007 7:37 pm (Pacific time)

"The shooting was the latest in a series of mass killings that have shocked the United States, where gun ownership is widespread and the right to bear arms is a hotly contested constitutional issue." Once again, blame the gun not the frickin' psycho! It's funny, my guns have been in my house for nearly 40 years and I've added several new ones and they haven't killed anybody. Maybe we should lock the criminal up instead of the guns! And, did you realize it's illegal to kill someone? So much for laws! The only law that should be passed is concealed weapons permits so someone could have taken the freak out of comission before he did all that damage! Liberalism is a mental disorder!

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