Omaha Mall Shooting

December 5, 2007

On December 5th, 2007, a man armed with a semi-automatic rifle entered the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska and opened fire into a crowd of shoppers in the Von Maur department store. Witnesses stated that the gunman, later identified as 19-year old Robert A. Hawkins, had initially entered the department store minutes earlier before returning with the rifle.

Police units entered the mall to discover the body of the shooter with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Six people died on the scene while two others succumbed to their injuries soon after; in total, nine fatalities and three injuries were reported. A suicide note found indicated the primary motive for the shooting was to gain widespread notoriety.

Selected Updates

NC4 Incident Monitoring Center issued the following alerts:

• Possible sniper shooting inside Von Maur store, may have killed 1.
  12/05/07 12:23 PST
  
  
• Shooter believed to have shot himself. Area has been closed off.
  12/05/07 12:48 PST
  

• At least five injuries reported; at least one in critical condition. 12/05/07 13:46 PST
  

• Suspect found near customer service section of store; believed to have killed himself. 12/05/07 13:51 PST
  
  
• Media outlets reporting nine fatalities and up to five injuries. 12/05/07 14:08 PST
  

• Nine people killed and several wounded. Two of the injured reportedly in critical condition. 12/05/07 21:55 PST
  
  

Additional Resources
NC4 provides ongoing updates to members as the incident unfolds through the NC4 Incident Monitoring Center (NIMC). NIMC analysts follow the incident using official government sources as well as national and local media sources - linking to the ABC local breaking news article, “Omaha Westroads Mall Shooting”, including images from the scene, eyewitness reports, and situational updates.

One-page printable summary with graphics