Utah gunman, 18, was Muslim from Bosnia
Pastor Dale Morgan
Utah gunman, 18, was Muslim from Bosnia*
Killed 5 in crowded shopping mall before being gunned down
Posted: February 13, 2007
The 18-year-old gunman who killed five people in a crowded Utah shopping
mall was a Bosnian Muslim refugee who was prepared to kill many more,
say investigators.
An off-duty police officer having an early Valentine's Day dinner with
his wife was credited today with cornering Sulejmen Talovic, exchanging
fire with him until other officers arrived to shoot and kill the gunman.
The trench-coated teenager wanted to "to kill a large number of people"
and probably would have killed many more if not for the off-duty
officer, Police Chief Chris Burbank said.
A friend said Talovic was from the war-torn country of Bosnia and that
the trauma he experienced while growing up may have led to him snapping
for some reason.
Ken Hammond, an off-duty officer from Ogden, north of Salt Lake City,
jumped up from his seat at a restaurant after hearing gunfire and
cornered the gunman, exchanging fire with him until other officers
arrived, Burbank said.
"There is no question that his quick actions saved the lives of numerous
other people," the police chief said.
Police said it was not immediately clear who fired the shot that killed
Talovic.
Talovic had a backpack full of ammunition, a shotgun and a .38-caliber
pistol, police said. Investigators knew little about Talovic, except
than he lived in Salt Lake City with his mother, the chief said. He was
enrolled in numerous city schools before withdrawing in 2004, the school
district said. Initially, police refused to release his name or any
information about his background.
Talovic drove to the Trolley Square shopping center – a century-old
former trolley barn with winding hallways, brick floors and wrought-iron
balconies, and immediately killed two people, followed by a third victim
as he came through a door, Burbank said. Five other people were then
shot in a gift shop, he said.
Four people who were wounded remained hospitalized today, two in
critical condition, two in serious.
Outside the mall, candles and flowers were left as memorials to the victims.
Hammond's boss, Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner, said the state Senate
wants to honor him.
"Thank goodness he was there," said Greiner, who is also a state
senator. "You don't want to ever say it's good we were there and killed
somebody, but it's probably good someone was there."
Accountant Jeff Barlow was on a date at a restaurant when he looked
outside and saw the gunman firing from the hip.
"I thought it was some kind of joke – some kind of movie or stunt,"
Barlow said. "I didn't believe it was happening. And then I saw a man go
down in a courtyard. I realized this was serious. These are real bullets
flying around."
David Dean, who owns a greeting-card store at the mall, said three or
four people died inside his store, which was packed with Valentine's Day
shoppers.