One dead in Tennessee mall shooting

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by Rachel Nixon | October 8, 2008 at 01:01 pm
939 views | 5 Recommendations | 9 comments

UPDATE: A clothing store employee has been killed at a Tennessee shopping mall after a customer opened fire.

The shooting, at Knoxville Center Mall, happened on Wednesday afternoon.

The employee was shot multiple times around 4:20 p.m. EDT after a confrontation with the customer and died at Knoxville Center Mall, police spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. No other injuries were reported.

Two uniformed Knoxville Police Department officers confronted the suspect and exchanged gunfire with him as he exited Reno Menswear, DeBusk said.

The suspect was taken to University of Tennessee Medical Center, where a nursing supervisor said she didn't have a report on his condition. Police didn't release the names of the customer or the suspect.

Witness Daniel Wiles said he saw a man about a hundred feet away with a handgun, heard nine shots and saw people begin fleeing for cover.

"I heard a single shot. Then immediately after that I heard eight additional shots. People started stampeding," said Wiles, who was at the mall to pay a cell phone bill.

Source: ap.google.com

Previously:

One person is dead following a shooting at Knoxville Center Mall, according to a spokesman for the Knoxville Fire Department.

Knoxville Police have one suspect in custody.

There are two victims but no specific word at this point as to their condition. Both were transported from the scene for medical care.

The suspect in the shooting was also transported from the scene for medical care.

The shooting occurred around 4:30 Wednesday.

Witnesses at the Buckle in the mall report hearing at least three shots.

A manager at Dr. Bizer's Vision World reports hearing more than three shots. People rushed into the store and took refuge in the moments after the shooting.

Police have cordoned off a crime scene at this point, and there are multiple evidence markers in place at Knoxville Center Mall.

Source: wbir.com


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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (9)

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master_jim2008
master_jim2008

at 13:16 on October 8th, 2008

Photo Gallery Knoxville Center Mall shooting

Police respond to a shooting on Wednesday Knoxville Center Mall. Authorities say there are two victims and one suspect is in custody.


Knoxville Center Mall

Two people have been shot at Knoxville Center Mall, and a suspect is in custody.

The conditions of the victims were not immediately available.

People streaming out of the mall this afternoon told similar stories of panic on the upper level of the mall when numerous gunshots rang out. They described people running in panic, screaming, ducking into stores and seeking shelter.

Kacey Duren, 19, of Knoxville, and boyfriend Cody Johnson, 18, of Knoxville, said they were upstairs just outside Waldenbooks when they saw people running and screaming. They said a man had a gun.

"They kept saying, 'Get back in the store, get back in the store,' " Duren said.

Then as many as 12 shots rang out, Johnson said.

Sebastian Wang, owner of Collectors' Choice in the mall, said, "We heard, like, 10 to 15 gunshots go off. We started closing the gates (of the store)."

Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said police will release more information shortly.

The shooting was reported about 4:30 p.m.

Knoxville police and Knox County sheriff's officers converged on the mall, which was locked down.

Source: knoxnews.com

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Rachel Nixon
Rachel Nixon

at 13:32 on October 8th, 2008

Thanks for the update master_jim2008. It sounds like an extremely frightening situation to be in.

Christina 123
Christina 123
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 13:17 on October 8th, 2008

Rachel Nixon, I like this story. It's good stuff.   Oh dear, I know this Mall.

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Rachel Nixon
Rachel Nixon

at 13:34 on October 8th, 2008

Thanks for the flag. How do you know the Mall, if you don't mind me asking? Did you used to live in the area?

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Christina 123
Christina 123

at 14:13 on October 8th, 2008

I have visited there!  If it is the famous large Mall about twenty minutes drive from Nashville, Tn.

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saddened heart
saddened heart (not verified)

at 19:06 on October 8th, 2008

No this mall is in Knoxville, Tennessee about two and one half hours from Nashville.  As a Knoxville native I can tell you it is not that large of a mall, but this story saddens me deeply.

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master_jim2008
master_jim2008

at 13:49 on October 8th, 2008

Not as exciting as being in a mall like I was and having a plane slam through the roof and catch fire, burning up the christmas tree in front of you (not to mention seeing the plane's occupants burning) and burning parts of the plane knocking people off the 2nd floor railing onto the first floor in the center of the mall.

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master_jim2008
master_jim2008

at 11:09 on October 9th, 2008

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Police are charging a man with murder after a shooting in a crowded shopping mall that left a store employee dead and sent panicked shoppers running for cover.

Police shot and wounded a homicide suspect on Wednesday at the Knoxville Center Mall in Tennessee.

Police shot and wounded a homicide suspect on Wednesday at the Knoxville Center Mall in Tennessee.

Police officers shot and wounded 42-year-old William Johnson, who has been charged with murder, aggravated kidnapping and two counts of attempted murder in the Wednesday afternoon shooting, police said.

The employee was shot multiple times around 4:20 p.m. after a confrontation with the suspect at Knoxville Center Mall, police spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. The employee, identified as 29-year-old Ahmed Nahl, died at the scene.

Two uniformed police officers confronted the suspect as he left the Reno Menswear store and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, hitting him once in the arm and once in the leg, DeBusk said. No one else was hurt, and police recovered the suspect's handgun.

Johnson was taken to University of Tennessee Medical Center and was listed in stable condition.

The two officers involved in the shooting were put on paid leave pending an investigation, which is standard procedure.

Witness, Daniel Wiles, 34, said he saw a man about a hundred feet away with a handgun, heard nine shots and saw people begin fleeing for cover.

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"I heard a single shot. Then immediately after that I heard eight additional shots. People started stampeding," said Wiles, who was at the mall to pay a cell phone bill.

Kay Jewelers assistant manager Cayla Corum said that before she heard gunshots a worker warned her to shut the gates to the store because of reports of someone carrying a gun in the mall.

"At first, it sounded like firecrackers going off," said Corum, 21. "Then everyone started running. ... I've never experienced anything like it in my life."

Corum said she heard two shots, a pause, and then "at least 15" shots.

The mall, owned by Simon Property Group of Indianapolis, Indiana, closed early because of the shooting.

Mall manager Tim Hill said in a release that the company was "deeply saddened" by the tragedy, offered sympathy to the victim and his family and pledged full cooperation with authorities.

Source: cnn.com

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Rachel Nixon
Rachel Nixon

at 11:11 on October 9th, 2008

Thanks for the update!

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