Nebraska ladies-are you all ok?

[crazycanuck]

:( I'm sorry to hear about the tragedy in Omaha :(

I hope none of your families were affected and you're all safe.

Take care

C

[MomOnBike]

I'm in Lincoln. DH and I were safe at work, and don't know anyone in that Omaha mall.

So, safe here, but very aware of how close to home such things can come.

[RoadRaven]

I have been so busy this week I haven't seen/read/heard the news...
What happened in Omaha?
Can someone link me to a page - my PC at home is desparately slow...

[singletrackmind]

http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN0564256720071205
9 dead in a mall shooting rampage? I had to look it up too.

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire inside a crowded shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday, killing eight people and then himself, police said.

Five people were wounded in the rampage at the Westroads Mall, two of them critically, according to hospital spokesmen. One man with a chest wound was in surgery.

Witnesses reported hearing as many as two dozen gunshots, telling a local television station the gunman shot one man in the head from a third-floor balcony and others at point-blank range as he moved through the mall.

"It was horrible, just horrible," one woman told KETV, saying she hid under a clothes rack when the shooting started.

Another witness at the mall, busy with pre-Christmas shoppers, said she heard someone shout: "It's a gunman, run!"

Most of the victims were shot inside one department store and the motive for the rampage was still being investigated, said Sgt. Teresa Negron of the Omaha Police Department.

"We do not believe that we have any other shooter," she told reporters. "The person we believe to be the shooter has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

[RoadRaven]

Thank you for posting...

Oh... that is so terrible (and terrible seems such an insignificant word)

I just don't understand why or how people end up in this head-space... with these resulting actions

I just don't understand...

[carpaltunnel]

Yes, we're very shocked here in Omaha. That boy was apparently well known to the court system, rehab, law enforcement, etc. He'd been a ward of the state and had finally "aged out" of all the services available without really making any progress on his problems. It's very sad.

If you are not familiar with the Von Mauer chain of stores where this happened, they are owned by one family, and treat their employees exceptionally well. Their employees are all the very nicest people. Once I ordered and paid for a pair of shoes that would take six weeks to arrive at the store. One night weeks later, my door bell rang and it was a Von Mauer employee who said she just thought she'd bring them to me on her way home from work.

Most of the victims were store employees.

I hope this doesn't give Omaha a bad name. There are so many wonderful people here, and it's a great place to live.