Omaha Mall employees hard hit by shooting deaths

By M&C US News Dec 6, 2007, 16:38 GMT

Debra Maruca-Kovac, caretaker of Robert Hawkins, the man suspected of killing eight people and then committing suicide in an Omaha, Nebraska, USA, shopping center, speaks to reporters outside her home in Bellevue, Nebraska, USA, on 05 December 2007. Hawkins came to live with Maruca\'s family a little over a year ago. She found his suicide note after he called her to thank her for her generosity. EPA/JILL PEITZMEIER NO MAGS, NO SALES

Names of the Omaha shooting victims were revealed by Police Chief Thomas Warren on Thursday.

They are: Gary Scharf, 48, a customer and resident of Lincoln; John McDonald, 65, a customer and resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Angie Schuster, 36, an employee; Maggie Webb, 24, an employee; Janet Jorgenson, 66, an employee; Diane Trent, 53, an employee; Gary Joy, 56, an employee; and Beverly Flynn, 47, an employee.

The wounded: are Fred Wilson, 61, and Michelle Oldham, 65, who were both critical but stable on Thursday morning.

Jeff Schafford, 34, and Brad Stafford, 55, were both treated and released.

Robert A. Hawkins, 19, described as a depressed young man with a history of being in foster care, opened fire at 1:42 p.m. Wednesday.

Surveillance video shows Hawkins entering the second level of Von Maur store about six minutes before police received the first call for shots fired.

Hawkins was hiding and AK-47 in a black sweatshirt.

Authorities think at least 30 rounds were fired from his AK-47 rifle.

Hawkins apparently left two suicide notes and a will, prompting authorities to call the shootings premeditated.

CNN reports that Hawkins left voice and text messages for his mother, friends, an ex-girlfriend and that Hawkins visited a friend near Westroads before the shooting.

Gov. Dave Heineman said Hawkins became a ward of the state on Sept. 17, 2002, but parental rights were not terminated and none of his siblings were state wards. Hawkins was terminated as a state ward on Aug. 24, 2006. He said the court is reviewing those orders and the state will talk more about it at a 2 p.m. news conference on Thursday.

Heineman ordered flags to half staff through Sunday as the state grieves.

"Like most Nebraskans, I'm shocked. I'm stunned and I'm still in disbelief. Our entire state is grieving," Heineman said.

Mayor Mike Fahey offered the city's thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims, and that the city will unite against "evil."

"These were innocent people going about their daily lives and shopping for the holiday. While it is impossible to make sense of the events that have occurred -- this was an act of cowardice," Fahey said. We are a community who will grieve this loss. Omaha is a good city with wonderful people. We will not accept this evil act."

Von Maur will be closed indefinitely, but Warren said he expects the rest of Westroads to open on Friday.

Warren said police presence at all Omaha malls will be stepped up through the holidays.

The main location of the shooting happened at the Von Maur customer service desk.

Westroads Mall will be closed Thursday as police continue their investigation.

Hawkins dropped out of Papillion-La Vista High School a couple of years ago, friends said. Recently, he had been arrested on suspicion of minor in possession of alcohol, had lost a job at McDonald's and had broken up with a girlfriend. He was living in a Bellevue home with the family of some friends.

Debora Maruka-Kovac said she took Hawkins in because he had emotional issues and she wanted to provide him a safe place to stay.

"He was very troubled," Maruka-Kovac said on Wednesday night. "I had no idea this troubled. I just can't believe it. I just can't believe it. He's a friend of my son's from school. He's living at a couple of different places. We took him in. We had two boys. We thought: what was one more if we could help?"

Maruka-Kovac said Hawkins lived with her, her husband and their two sons.

She said that the last time she saw him, she thought he was going to pick up his eyeglasses. The last time she talked to him, about 40 minutes before the shooting was reported to police, he told her he was sorry to be a burden and thanked her for taking him in. He also told her for the first time that he had been fired.

"I tried to talk to him and say, 'Come on home. We'll work it out,'" Maruka-Kovac said.

She said he told her it was too late, and that he'd left some notes in his room to explain why.

"He wrote, 'I'm a piece of s*** and now I'm going to be famous,'" she said.

Maruka-Kovac said she found the notes, called Hawkins' mother and then the police. It wasn't long before reports of the shooting were everywhere.

"I had a sick feeling when I heard about it," she said. "I can't believe he would go this far. He was a good-hearted kid. He was just going through some rough times."