Oregon – A gunman sprayed bullets inside a shopping center leaving two people dead. He was found dead later.
According to the police, on Sunday night reports of an active shooting at a shopping center were received.
The authorities later revealed that the shooter was found dead after opening fire with his AR-15-style rifle. He opened fire outside the Safeway grocery store in the Forum shopping mall located in the Bend area at approximately 7 pm.
The Bend Police department’s spokesperson Sheila Miller said in the press briefing that the shooter first fired some shots at the Big Lots store before walking into the west side entrance of the Safeway.
One of the deceased was shot at the entrance of the grocery store whereas the other person was fatally killed at the back of the same store
No one was injured at the Big Lots.
The motive of the shootout is still unknown but an investigation has begun. The name of the victims and the alleged gunman were not disclosed.
Saint Charles hospital’s spokesperson Lisa Goodman revealed that an injured person was admitted to the hospital but his condition is out of danger.
When the police arrived at the crime scene, the gunman had already died and had a shotgun and an AR-15-style rifle lying near him. The policemen did not have to fire a shot at the gunman but it is still unclear whether he was killed by someone else or it was a self-inflicted shot.
The shooting comes just months later when a gunman opened fire at a grocery store in Buffalo killing 10 people. This will increase terror among the people who have already started to fear going to a grocery store because of these horrifying incidents of terror.
Lindsey Brunsman, an eyewitness who is a personal trainer and a photographer stated that she was in the nearby park walking her dog when she heard several shots.
“I have guns and like to go shooting, and I know what those sound like,” she said. “I thought, ‘I really hope that’s not what I think it is.’”
Another eyewitness Jessica Swartz who owns a food cart known as River’s place said that she did not hear any gunshots as the music being played by the live band was very loud but she did see customers getting up real quick and leaving the premises in a “mass exodus”.
Molly Taroli, a shopper at the grocery store stated that the crime scene was very chaotic. The shooter literally combed every aisle and sprayed bullets across the store as the employees urged the customers to run towards the back door and the stockroom yelling “Go, Go, Go!” The shopping center has been closed down for further investigation and the residents are warned to stay away from it.
