Trolley Square shooting
Trolley Square shooting | |
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Location | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
Coordinates | 40°45′26″N 111°52′21″W / 40.75722°N 111.87250°W |
Date | February 12, 2007 6:44 – 6:50 p.m.[1] (MST) |
Target | Trolley Square |
Attack type | Mass murder, mass shooting, shootout |
Weapons |
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Deaths | 6 (including the perpetrator) |
Injured | 4 |
Perpetrator | Sulejman Talović |
The Trolley Square shooting was a
Events
Shooting
On February 12, 2007, at 6:42 p.m. MST, Talović arrived at the Trolley Square Mall, parking his vehicle in the upper level of the mall's west
Two minutes after exiting his vehicle, Talović encountered 52-year-old Jeffrey Walker and his 16-year-old son Alan in the parking garage. He shot and wounded both in the head with his shotgun; Alan Walker managed to run down a staircase to the lower parking level, where he was assisted by other citizens. However, Talović stood over Jeffrey Walker, who had fallen to the ground after being shot, and shot him repeatedly in the head and back, killing him.Continuing onward to the west entrance of the mall, Talović shot 34-year-old Shawn Munns twice with the shotgun from approximately 30 yards away. Munns managed to flee the scene and survive his injuries. Talović then fired twice at the entrance doors, causing shoppers inside the store to hide or flee. Entering the mall, he approached the west stairs, where he fired at a security guard, missing, then walked down the main level hallway in the opposite direction. There, he shot 29-year-old Vanessa Quinn in the chest with his revolver; when she fell to the ground, Talović stood over her and killed her with a second gunshot to the head.
Talović then entered Cabin Fever, a card store where seven people were hiding. He first approached 44-year-old Carolyn Tuft, who was crouched down near a display table at the front of the store, and shot her in the left side and arm with the shotgun, causing her to fall over to the ground. He then spotted 53-year-old Stacy Hanson crouching near the southeast glass wall of the store. Hanson said to him "Everyone just wants to go home," to which Talović told him to "Shut up!" before shooting and injuring him in the lower abdomen and arm with the shotgun, also shattering the glass wall; Hanson fell face-down into the glass.
Talović then approached a group of three people: 15-year-old Kirsten Hinckley (whose mother was the injured Carolyn Tuft), 24-year-old Brad Frantz, and 29-year-old Teresa Ellis. All three victims were lying on the floor in the southern front of the store. Talović fired from his shotgun, hitting all three people. Frantz died of a gunshot wound to the forehead, while Hinckley suffered a wound to the torso and Ellis suffered wounds to the right arm, torso, and leg. He then left the store briefly to reload, during which Carolyn Tuft crawled towards her injured daughter. Talović returned, shooting Tuft, Hinckley, and Ellis again; Hinckley and Ellis both died of gunshot wounds to the head, while Tuft survived a wound to the back.[2]
Police response
Leaving Cabin Fever a second time, Talović encountered off-duty police officer Kenneth Hammond of the Ogden City Police Department. At the time, Hammond was at Trolley Square on an early Valentine's Day dinner with his pregnant wife,
Meanwhile, Sergeant Andrew Oblad of the Salt Lake City Police Department entered Trolley Square through the south entrance and encountered Kenneth Hammond. Talović fired at both officers, and Hammond fired back in return.
According to local TV station KTVX, several witnesses reported that most of the shooting took place on the ground floor near the Pottery Barn store, though the majority of the dead and injured were found in Cabin Fever. One of the victims, having been shot, apparently entered the nearby Hard Rock Cafe and told customers to lock the doors. The wounded victims were transported to local hospitals, some in critical condition.[8]
Victims
Killed[4]
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Injured[9]
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Perpetrator
Sulejman Talović (October 6, 1988 – February 12, 2007) was identified as the perpetrator of the shooting. He was born in
After the shooting, Talović was buried in his birthplace, the small village of Talovići near Cerska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on March 2, 2007. Sulejman's father Suljo Talović soon moved back to Bosnia and told media outlets that he was too sad and ashamed to stay living in a country where his son committed mass murder.[15]
Motive
Talović's aunt Ajka Omerović emerged briefly from the family's house to say relatives had no idea why he attacked so many strangers. She said that Talović had lived in Sarajevo as a child, and that his family moved to Utah from Bosnia. "He was such a good boy. I don't know what happened," she told Salt Lake City television station KSL-TV.[16]
In another KSL interview, with Omerović, and Talović's father, Suljo Talović, the two indicated concern that some outside influence might have induced Sulejman to commit the killings. "I think this [Sulejman] did. I think somebody (is) behind him, I think, but I am not sure...."[17]
The father suggested that the U.S. government bears some responsibility for his son's actions, saying "The authorities are guilty for not alerting us that he bought a gun. In the U.S., you cannot buy cigarettes if you are under-aged, but you can buy a gun." Federal law prohibits the sale of handguns and handgun ammunition to those under 21 from federally licensed gun dealers although some states allow 18+ to purchase handguns through legal private sales. Long guns (being a rifle or shotgun) and rifle/shotgun ammunition are prohibited to those under 18.[18] Talović had bought the guns in a pawn shop.[19]
In the light of the
Officers honored
Five officers were honored at the Utah State Capitol on February 16 for their bravery in the Trolley Square shooting.[25]
They are Sergeant Andrew Oblad, Sergeant Joshua Scharman, Detective Dustin Marshall, and Detective Brett Olsen, all of the Salt Lake City Police Department; and Officer Kenneth Hammond of the Ogden Police Department.
On February 13, 2007, Salt Lake City police officials thanked Hammond as a hero for saving countless lives.[5]
See also
- Ward Parkway Shopping Center shooting
- Hudson Valley Mall shooting
- Tacoma Mall shooting
- Westroads Mall shooting
- Sello mall shooting
References
- ^ a b "Six Minutes of Terror, Retracing the Shooting Rampage". KSL.com. February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Trolley Square Shooting Incident Investigative Summary" (PDF). Salt Lake City Police Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2014.
- Salt Lake Tribune. February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ Salt Lake Tribune. February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ a b "Officer called hero following Utah rampage". Associated Press. February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ "Off-duty officer shrugs off 'heroic' label". Deseret Morning News. February 16, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
- Deseret Morning News. February 17, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
- ^ "Gunman Opens Fire at Trolley Square". KSL-TV. February 12, 2007. Retrieved February 12, 2007.
- ^ "Police ID victims, killer in shooting". The Salt Lake Tribune. February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- Dnevni Avaz. February 15, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
- Deseret Morning News. February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- Salt Lake Tribune. February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ "FBI found Talovic had a history with Trolley Square". The Salt Lake Tribune. June 25, 2009.
- ^ "Police: Off-Duty Cop Saved Lives In Mall". CBS News. February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ "Talović: Život obilježen sramotom i tugom". Nezavisne. February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
- ^ "Off-Duty cop helped end Utah mall rage". Associated Press. February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ "Trolley Square Shooter's Family Speaks to the Media". KSL-TV. February 18, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
- ^ Gun laws in the US Archived 2007-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Victims in Trolley Square shooting resolve lawsuits against gun dealer".
- ^ "Why No Mention That Salt Lake Shooter Was Muslim?". Fox News. February 20, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
- ^ a b Speckman, Stephen (February 22, 2007). "Cannon Takes Back 'Allah' Quote". Deseret Morning News.
- ^ Burbank Says Evidence Does Not Support 'Personal Jihad' in Mall Shooting" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, KCPW-FM, Feb. 22, 2007. For the video, see amateur video clip recording of the mall shooting
- Salt Lake Tribune. February 15, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2007.
- ^ "FBI rules out terrorism in Utah shooting". Post Independent. February 14, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2007.
- ^ "Five officers were honored at Utah state capitol". KUTV. February 16, 2007. Archived from the original on February 17, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
External links
- [1]
- Official statement by owners concerning shooting spree
- Message from the governor of Utah concerning shooting
- Audio of Trolley Square 911 calls and police band radio audio from KNRS Radio
- CBS News coverage of shooting and message-board
- KSTU-Fox coverage of shooting spree
- KTVX-ABC coverage of shooting spree
- KSL-NBC message-boards and coverage of shooting spree
- KUTV-CBS coverage of shooting spree
- Video by bystander in shooting of police inside Trolley Square
- Was banning weapons at Trolley wise?
- Picture of Trolley Square rules, including prohibition on weapons