Gunman Kills 5, Wounds 4 in Trolley Square Shopping Mall Shooting

Detectives are trying to figure out what led to a violent rampage at Trolley Square shopping mall on Salt Lake City Monday night. Police say that an 18-year-old man from the Salt Lake City area used a shotgun, a handgun, and several rounds of ammunition to walk through the mall shooting at people he encountered. The gunman killed five people and wounded four others, two of whom are in critical condition.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank told reporters that the teenager’s apparent motive in the shootings was "to kill a large number of people." Although police know very little about the man so far, he has been identified as Sulejmen Talovic, who lived with his mother in Salt Lake City. "It appeared to be very random," Burbank said. "There was no sense to why he was doing what he was doing."

Four police officers were involved in the shooting—three Salt Lake City officers and one off-duty officer from Ogden who just happened to be in the mall when he heard shots fired. The Ogden officer had his gun, but no extra equipment or additional ammunition, but he immediately went after the gunman. Burbank was quick to acknowledge that if the off-duty officer had not confronted the teenager, he would likely have killed more victims. "There is no question that his quick action saved the lives of numerous other people, Burbank said.

Steve Farr, who owns a jewelry store in the mall, saw shattered glass everywhere and pools of blood as he walked past them to check on his store after the shootings. "I’ve worked here for 28 years," Farr told reporters. "It’s been the safest place to be." Lund said as he was leaving the mall he saw a woman’s body face down outside a children’s store and a man’s body on the floor in another corridor. "It was quite surreal," he said.

Matt Lund, whose wife Barbara manages a clothing store in the mall, told reporters that when he and his wife heard the first shots, they hurried to a storage room, where they hid for about 40 minutes while they heard other shots and yelling outside the store. "We heard them say, ‘Police! Drop your weapon!’ Then we heard shotgun fire. Then there was a barrage of gunfire," said Lund. "It was hard to believe."

Marie Smith, a 23-year-old manager at Bath & Body Works, told reporters that she had glance out the store window and saw the gunman, whom she described as "an average Joe," raise his gun and fire at a young woman coming toward him. "His expression stayed totally calm," she said. "He didn’t seem upset, or like he was on a rampage." Smith crawled to an employee restroom to hide with other store employees.

Salt Lake City police Detective Robin Snyder said that two 28-year-old women, a 52-year-old man, a 24-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl were killed in the shootings. Four other people were hospitalized, a man and a woman in critical condition and two men in serious condition, Snyder said. Victims were found in various locations throughout the mall.

The two-story mall is a renovated 239,000-square-foot trolley barn built nearly a century ago, with brick floors, wrought-iron balconies, and about 80 stores including a number of high-end upscale retailers and restaurants. The mall was just sold last August to an investment company planning to invest $80 million to lure new stores and possibly build condominiums nearby.

In a statement posted on the KSL-TV Web site, owner Tom Bard said, "We are devastated and shocked by this senseless, random act of violence and tragedy at Trolley Square. At this time our greatest concern and prayers are with the victims, their families and loved ones."