Gunman kills 8 in Nebraska, then turns gun on himself

Police have confirmed nine people are dead after a young man opened fire in a busy mall in Omaha, Neb., on Wednesday.

The shooter, brandishing a rifle, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing eight people in the busy shopping centre, Omaha police said. Witnesses said he was firing at his victims below from a third-floor balcony.

Police identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins, 19, of Bellevue, Neb. Authorities recovered an SKS assault rifle from the scene.

Hawkins was later found dead on the third floor of the Van Maur department store, according to the Associated Press.

Five other people were injured and two of the victims are in critical condition after the apparently random shooting, Omaha police Chief Thomas Warren said. Identities of the victims have not been released.

'We saw the bodies and we saw the blood.' Mickey Vickory, Van Maur store employee

A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Omaha television station KETV that a family friend found a suicide note at the home where Hawkins was staying. The note referenced the young man's wish to "go out in style," KETV reported.

Omaha police Sgt. Teresa Negrontold reportersthe shootings had endedby the time officers responded six minutes later to a 911 call from the Westroads Mall, located in an affluent neighbourhood on the city's west side.

Soon afterward, people emerged from the mall with their hands raised in the air, some still clutching shopping bags.

Screams broke out and shoppers and employees ran for their lives when the shooting began. Some people reportedly barricaded themselves in dressing rooms and prayed.

'Like a nail gun'

"Everybody was scared, and we didn't know what was going on," said Belene Esaw-Kagbara, 31, a Von Maur employee. "We didn't know what to do. I was praying that God protect us."

Keith Fidler, who also works at the Van Maur store, said he and roughly a dozenco-workers hunkered downin the corner of the men's clothing department. Fidler said he heard a burst of five to six shots, followed by 15 to 20 rounds.

The employees did not leave their location until police entered and ordered them to clear the area, Fidler said. As they were led out, employees saw the bodies of the victims for the first time.

"We saw the bodies and we saw the blood," said Mickey Vickory, a Van Maur employee who hid in a closet during the rampage.

"My knees rocked. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran with everybody else," said shopper Kevin Kleine, 29.

'Sorry for everything'

A witness, ShawnVidlak,said hefirst heard rapid shots that sounded "like a nail gun,"and believed it might be construction noise. As soon as he heard people screaming about gunshots, he ran with his wife and children, he said.

TheOmaha World-Herald newspaper reported that the gunman wasclad in a camouflage vest, wearing a black backpack and had a military-style haircut.

Hawkins was kicked out by his family about a year ago, said Debora Maruca-Kovac, who allowed the young man to stay at her middle-class family home with her husband and children in the suburb of Bellevue. Hawkins was a friend of her sons, she said.

Maruca-Kovac descibed him as "introverted" and "troubled" when he first began staying with the family. She saidHawkins was fired this week from his job at McDonald's and recently broke up with his girlfriend.

Shortly beforethe shooting began at around 1:15 p.m.,Maruca-Kovac said Hawkins phoned her to alert her toa suicide note he left, in which hewrote he was "sorry for everything" and wished not to be a burden on his family anymore.