PORTLAND, Oregon — The US mall shooting that left three dead and forced hundreds of Christmas shoppers to hide or flee appears to have been a random attack, authorities said Wednesday. The masked gunman, who was one of the three dead, was seemingly targeting “anyone who was in his line of sight,” Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts told NBC's “Today” show.
“It was very apparent that he had a mission set forth to really take the lives of people in that mall,” Roberts said.Police said they have tentatively identified the gunman but would not release his name.The shooting Tuesday afternoon at the busy Portland, Oregon, mall started shortly after a man in a white mask carrying a rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest said, “I am the shooter,” as if announcing himself, said Austin Patty, 20, who works at a mall department store.A series of rapid-fire shots followed as Christmas music continued to play.
Patty said he ducked and then ran.Witnesses said the suspect fired several times near the mall food court until the rifle jammed, and he dropped a magazine onto the floor and ran into the Macy's store.Some were close enough to the shooter to feel the percussion of his gun.
“I saw a gentleman face down, obviously shot in the head,” said Jason DeCosta, the manager of company with a display on the mall's ground floor.
“A lot of blood. You could tell there was nothing you could do for him.”DeCosta said he also saw a woman on the floor who had been shot in the chest.Officials said a woman was also shot and was in serious condition at a Portland hospital. — AP
