美國19歲槍手為出名 血洗內布拉斯加州購物中心

美國19歲槍手為出名 血洗內布拉斯加州購物中心

倍可親(backchina.com)當地時間12月5日下午2點左右，19歲的霍金斯(Robert Hawkins)手持步槍站在購物中心三樓陽台，開始向樓下的購物者開槍，當場打死8人打傷5人，然後開槍自盡。

槍擊事件發生在內布拉斯加州奧馬哈市西路購物中心(Westroads Mall)。當天，美國總統布什正在奧哈馬市參加一個籌款會，不過他在槍擊案發生前的幾個小時離開奧哈馬。

西路購物中心位於奧馬哈市的西部，附近是中產階層居住區。槍擊案發生時，29歲的克裏妮(Kevin Kleine)正帶著她4歲的女兒購物。“我當時兩腿發抖，驚惶失措不知怎麽辦，所以就跟著人群跑。”克裏妮回憶說，最後她帶著女兒躲進一個更衣間，裏麵還有4名購物者和1名雇員。

槍擊事件發生在西路購物中心的Von Maur店的三樓陽台上。目擊者描述說，槍擊案發生時購物中心一片混亂，許多購物者從Von Maur店中跑出來。一名目擊者說，“當時被眼前發生的一切嚇壞了，簡直難以想象，我當時隻希望上帝保佑我們。”

　　

逃離槍擊現場的購物者


槍擊事件發生後不久，警方迅速封鎖了現場。一名目擊者說，當購物者從購物中心大門逃到外麵時，不得不舉起雙手，以便證明自己不是槍手。另一名在購物中心工作的目擊者對CNN說，當時她正準備返回商店工作，忽然聽到一陣槍聲，聲音就象有人在放鞭炮一樣，“我當時不管那麽多了，奪路而逃。”

目擊者克萊默(Jennifer Cramer)說，“我們聽到30或40聲槍響，在我們往外逃跑時，我們看到有些人在電動扶梯上倒下了，還有人在流血。”一家商店的雇員塔圖恩 (Charissa Tatoon)描述說，“我們一開始聽到3聲巨響，隨後就從三樓陽台上傳出一陣槍聲，大約有20聲或25聲。”塔圖恩說，她看到一個男子在三樓上向二樓開槍，至少有4人或5人倒下。

購物中心的工作人員說，現在還不知道這名槍手在開槍時是否說了什麽，目前整個購物中心已成為槍擊案現場，警方正在進行調查。警方負責人說，7人死於槍擊案現場，另外2人在被送往附近一所醫院時死亡。另有5人受傷，其中3人傷勢嚴重。

警方封鎖現場


美國有線新聞網和美聯社報導說，據警方負責人透露，槍手持有一把自動步槍，絕大多數受傷和死者都是在Von Maur店內。警方仍在確認死者的身份，並開始尋找槍手駕駛的汽車。

一名當地執法官員透露說，槍手是19歲的霍金斯。案發後，霍金斯的房東在他的住處發現了一個字條，上麵寫著他這樣做是想“出名”。警方負責人說，警方確信此案是霍金斯一個所為，沒有其中涉案者。警方在Von Maur店內發現了霍金斯的屍體，被他槍殺的人分別在二樓和三樓。

媒體指出，雖然警方還沒有給出霍金斯的作案動機，但據了解霍金斯的人透露，一年前在被家裏趕出來後，霍金斯住在一位名叫馬魯卡(Debora Maruca)的朋友家中。馬魯卡說，在霍金斯剛來她家時，他非常內向。後來，馬魯卡在霍金斯的房間發現了一張自殺字條，上麵寫著他將不會再成為馬魯卡家的負擔，“現在我將會出名”。

警方封鎖現場


馬魯卡在接受CNN采訪時介紹說，她看了霍金斯留下的字條，大概意思是：他非常抱歉，他愛所有的朋友，愛他的父母，他不想再成為別人的負擔，他想結束這一切，他將會出名。馬魯卡說，霍金斯當天上午11點左右離開家中，但她沒有看到他有槍。

霍金斯是個麻煩不斷的青年。馬魯卡說，本周，一直在西路購物中心的麥當勞店工作的霍金斯被炒了。與他交往一段時間的女朋友，近來也跟他斷絕了關係。

奧馬哈當地媒體報導說，槍手留著士兵頭型，背著一個黑色背包，身穿偽裝服。警方負責人說，槍擊事件剛一發生時，有人就從西路購物中心撥打911，當時能夠聽到槍聲。6分鍾後，警察趕到案發現場。這時，槍擊案已經結束。

當地時間晚7點，警方調查人員在購物中心停車場內的一台切諾基吉普車進行檢查。據信這台車是霍金斯的。

　　

圖為霍金斯檔案照


最新消息說，霍金斯有憂鬱症病史，但在一年前搬到朋友家以後，他的病情有所好轉。不過，兩周前與女朋友分手，加上本周又被麥當勞店炒了，可能對他打擊很大。

在被家裏趕出來後，霍金斯一直與馬魯卡家人生活在一起。馬魯卡在接受媒體采訪時說，“他非常憂鬱，他一直非常憂鬱，但他看起來已經好多了。”在搬到馬魯卡家後，霍金斯考了駕照，並開始在購物中心的麥當勞店打工。購物中心麥當勞店的兩名員工說，店裏已要求他們不要對外談論霍金斯被炒一事。

馬魯卡介紹說，雖然霍金斯沒有接受過精神病治療，但他過去曾治療過憂鬱症。盡管霍金斯的麻煩不斷，但馬魯卡說，他是溫和的，喜歡動物。據悉，霍金斯還有酗酒曆史，有時還在自己的房間抽大麻。馬魯卡說，霍金斯喜歡聽音樂，玩一些“正常孩子都喜歡玩的”電子遊戲。

在霍金斯留下自殺字條的最上麵，還寫著他的“遺願”：他的綠色切諾基吉普車歸他的母親，所留下的東西“我的朋友想要什麽盡管拿”。

霍金斯在字條最後寫道：“現在，我將會出名了。”

CNN: Mall shooter's suicide note: Now I'll be famous

OMAHA, Nebraska (CNN) -- A 19-year-old gunman who police said killed eight people and then himself at a Nebraska mall left a suicide note predicting the shootings would make him famous, his landlord said.

Five other people were injured, and two of them were in critical condition, hospital officials said.

The shootings inside the Von Maur department store at the popular Westroads Mall in Omaha sent panicked holiday shoppers fleeing for cover.

"It was just so loud, and then it was silence," said witness Jennifer Kramer, who hid behind a clothing rack. "I was scared to death he'd be walking around looking for someone else."

Police identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins of Bellvue, Nebraska.

Chief Thomas Warren of the Omaha Police Department called the shooting "premeditated," but said it "appears to be very random and without provocation."

Debora Maruca Kovac, Hawkins' landlord, said she found the suicide note after getting a phone call from Hawkins about 1 p.m., just minutes before the shootings. Video Watch landlord describe phone call from shooter ?

"He basically said how sorry he was for everything," Maruca Kovac said of the note. "He didn't want to be a burden to people and that he was a piece of s--- all of his life and that now he'd be famous."

She said Hawkins was a friend of her sons and "reminded me of a lost puppy that nobody wanted." He came to live with her about a year and a half ago, telling her he could not stay with his own family because of "some issues with his stepmother."

She described Hawkins as well-behaved, although "he had a lot of emotional problems, obviously."

Maruca Kovac told the Omaha World-Herald that Hawkins showed her an SKS semiautomatic Russian military rifle the night before the rampage, but she wasn't alarmed.

The shootings began about 1:42 p.m. (2:42 p.m. ET).

Seven people were found dead at the scene by officers who arrived six minutes later; two others, a male and a female, died after being transported to Creighton University Medical Center, said Fire Chief Robert Dahlquist.

A Creighton spokeswoman said a second female underwent surgery and was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon.

Three other people were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

One, a 61-year-old man who sustained a chest wound after being shot in the armpit, had surgery and remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit Wednesday night, said hospital spokeswoman Maggie O'Brien.

The other two -- a 34-year-old man who was shot in the arm, and a 55-year-old man who fell and struck a clothing rack as he was trying to escape -- were treated and released, she said.

Warren said Hawkins was armed with an SKS assault rifle. His body, and the weapon, were found on the store's third floor, he said.

Maruca Kovac told CNN that Hawkins left the house Wednesday about 11 a.m., and called the house about two hours later, sounding upset.

"He just said he wanted to thank me for everything I'd done for him ... and he was sorry," Maruca Kovac said. He told her he had gotten fired from his job at a McDonald's restaurant, she said.

"I said, 'Come home and we'll talk about it,' " she recounted. "He said, 'It's too late.' He said he'd left a note explaining everything."

Kramer told CNN she heard at least 25 shots. Video Watch witnesses describe the ordeal ?

"I looked at my mom and said, 'We need to get out of here. Those are gunshots,' " Kramer said. "I just grabbed my mom and we ran to the back of the men's department and hid in some pants racks."

"He just kept firing," she said. She said she called 911 on her cell phone, whispering into it out of fear of being heard. A dispatcher told her other calls had been received and help was on the way, but she said it seemed to take "a long time" for them to arrive.

She said as she was being escorted out by police, she saw a man lying injured by the escalator where she had been previously.

Mall employee Charissa Tatoon said a man by an escalator near her was heard saying he was calling 911. See a map of where the shooting took place ?

"Immediately after that, the shooter shot down from the third floor and shot him on the second floor," she said.

"All of us were slightly confused because we didn't know what it was," Tatoon said. "Immediately after that, there was a series of maybe 20 to 25 more shots up on the third floor."

Warren, the police chief, said the victims included five females and three males, not including Hawkins. The shooting appeared to be contained in the Von Maur store, he said.

"We believe there was one shooter, and one shooter only," he said. Video Watch police talk about the shooting ?

Maruca Kovac said Hawkins' mental state seemed to be improving but he had been through a rough patch recently.

"When he first came to live with us, he was in the fetal position and chewed his fingernails all the time," she said. But she said she thought he was improving, as he had gotten a job, a haircut and a girlfriend.

However, she said Hawkins and his girlfriend had broken up in the last couple of weeks, and he had taken it hard. Then he got fired from McDonald's on Wednesday.

She said late Wednesday that authorities were searching her house for evidence.

"My kids are devastated," she said. "We're all in shock."

A school district spokeswoman said he attended Papillion-La Vista High School until he withdrew in March 2006. The World-Herald said he later earned his GED.

President Bush had visited Omaha on Wednesday before the shooting.

"The president is deeply saddened by the shootings in Omaha," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "His thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."

The shooting was at least the fourth at a mall or shopping center so far this year, following incidents in Salt Lake City, Utah; Kansas City, Missouri; and Douglasville, Georgia.