By Xinhua
Washington : A gunman opened fire with a rifle in a busy shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska on Wednesday, killing eight people before taking his own life, police said.
The rampage occurred at the Westroads Mall, in which five others were also wounded.
“We do not believe that we have any other shooter,” Sgt. Teresa Negron of Omaha police department told reporters.
“The person we believe to be the shooter has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, “she said.
Seven people, including the gunman, died at the scene, and two others died after being sent to the hospital.
Three of the five wounded are in critical condition.
The shootings began just before 2 p.m. at the Von Maur store inside the Westroads shopping complex.
The gunman had a rifle and most of the victims were shot inside the store.
Police were still trying to identify the dead and were looking for a vehicle the gunman may have used to come to the mall.
After the shootings began, shoppers and employees streamed out of the building with their hands up.
Some described hiding in clothes racks, dressing rooms and bathrooms after hearing the shots.
As news of the shooting spread, people gathered outside the mall, checking on loved ones who were inside.
The shopping center will be closed until at least Thursday, police said.
News reports said the gunman was 21-year-old Robert Hawkins of Bellevue, Nebraska, who left a suicide note that was found by his mother.
Police records show a criminal incident involving Hawkins in 2006, but no details were known.
The mall is the biggest in Omaha area and has more than 135 stores and restaurants, catering some 14.5 million visitors every year.
Jennifer Kramer, a witness who said she was hiding in a men’s room with her mother at Von Maur, said she heard 35 to 40 shots as she was taking cover inside the mall.
U.S. President George W. Bush happened to be in Omaha Wednesday, but left before the shooting took place.