DH had a doctor’s appt about a mile from this mall early this afternoon. We had intended to shop at the Barnes and Noble store in the mall after the appointment, the B/N is about 100 yards from the Macy’s front door. If we had gone at the time we had available to us, we would have been there. It’s so stunning to realize that many (like us) were spared even the trauma of being in the vicinity….and others are struggling through the evening hours, unable yet to hear from loved ones or inside the mall yet perhaps in hiding. The gunman was wearing body armor and a hockey mask. The police are searching store by store to locate those still frightened and concealing themselves.
Life is fragile, is it not.
OREGON – According to preliminary reports, a man with a semiautomatic rifle opened fire near Macy’s around 3:29 p.m. (Pacific) The man, who may have been wearing body armor and camouflage clothing, also was seen near the mall’s food court.
John Canzano, sports columnist for The Oregonian, reported that as many as 60 shots were fired while he was shopping at the mall. Canzano said he first noticed people “running out of the mall kind of crying and upset.” He stopped a person who said “somebody has an automatic weapon and is shooting.”Crowds of shoppers were seen running from the mall. Others huddled together, crying, while trying to take cover.
Some early reports indicated the man was carrying an AR-15 rifle, the semiautomatic, civilian version of the fully automatic, military M-16. Both rifles fire the same high-powered cartridge. (Oregon Live Links w/ updates)