[h=3]By JIM CARLTON and JOEL MILLMAN[/h]
Associated PressLaw-enforcement personnel worked the scene of a shooting at the Clackamas Town Center in Clackamas, Ore., Tuesday.
CLACKAMAS, Ore.—A gunman opened fire in a mall crowded with Christmas shoppers here Tuesday afternoon, killing at least two people and sending at least one person to a hospital before being found dead, said the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
The attack at about 3:30 p.m. in the Clackamas Town Center, near Portland, sent hundreds of shoppers and merchants running for cover as the gunman, wielding an apparent assault rifle, fired off what witnesses on Twitter and on local television stations described as about 60 shots.
Aerial footage of the police and first responder activity after a gunman opened fire in a mall crowded with Christmas shoppers in Portland on Tuesday afternoon.
In a news conference, Lt. James Rhodes of Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said the adult male shooter had been found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after police, responding to numerous 911 calls, stormed into the mall.
Lt. Rhodes declined to provide details on what the shooter was wearing or what kind of weapon he used. He said preliminary indications were the gunman apparently acted alone. He said police fired no shots in or around the mall.
The female victim left the mall by ambulance for a local hospital and was then flown by helicopter to Oregon Health & Science University's trauma center, said Lt. Rhodes. He declined to say anything more about the victim or her injuries.
It was unknown whether the shooter knew any of his victims. "We don't know if this was random or targeted at this time, but that's certainly something we will be addressing," said Lt. Rhodes.
Lt. Rhodes said nearly 100 officers from multiple jurisdictions remained on the scene of the mall, going from store to store helping to evacuate people still in hiding. Officers had evacuated hundreds of people and estimated "somewhat less than that" remained hunkered down inside.
"We will search this entire mall until we are certain it is secure," Lt. Rhodes said.
Merchants in the mall reached by phone declined to comment.
—Steven D. Jones contributed to this article.
Write to Jim Carlton at [email protected] and Joel Millman at [email protected]
A version of this article appeared December 11, 2012, on page A8 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Three Killed In Oregon Mall Shooting.
CLACKAMAS, Ore.—A gunman opened fire in a mall crowded with Christmas shoppers here Tuesday afternoon, killing at least two people and sending at least one person to a hospital before being found dead, said the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
The attack at about 3:30 p.m. in the Clackamas Town Center, near Portland, sent hundreds of shoppers and merchants running for cover as the gunman, wielding an apparent assault rifle, fired off what witnesses on Twitter and on local television stations described as about 60 shots.
Aerial footage of the police and first responder activity after a gunman opened fire in a mall crowded with Christmas shoppers in Portland on Tuesday afternoon.
In a news conference, Lt. James Rhodes of Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said the adult male shooter had been found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after police, responding to numerous 911 calls, stormed into the mall.
Lt. Rhodes declined to provide details on what the shooter was wearing or what kind of weapon he used. He said preliminary indications were the gunman apparently acted alone. He said police fired no shots in or around the mall.
The female victim left the mall by ambulance for a local hospital and was then flown by helicopter to Oregon Health & Science University's trauma center, said Lt. Rhodes. He declined to say anything more about the victim or her injuries.
It was unknown whether the shooter knew any of his victims. "We don't know if this was random or targeted at this time, but that's certainly something we will be addressing," said Lt. Rhodes.
Lt. Rhodes said nearly 100 officers from multiple jurisdictions remained on the scene of the mall, going from store to store helping to evacuate people still in hiding. Officers had evacuated hundreds of people and estimated "somewhat less than that" remained hunkered down inside.
"We will search this entire mall until we are certain it is secure," Lt. Rhodes said.
Merchants in the mall reached by phone declined to comment.
—Steven D. Jones contributed to this article.
Write to Jim Carlton at [email protected] and Joel Millman at [email protected]
A version of this article appeared December 11, 2012, on page A8 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Three Killed In Oregon Mall Shooting.