Posted on 02/13/2007 4:34:26 PM PST by wagglebee
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 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.
"Muslim murders innocent Americans in Utah, creating terror among mall patrons.
By definition, a terrorist attack.
Look, people, it doesn't need a conspiracy to make it terrorism. "
Worth repeating! It's just a shame the media won't.
Thanks for the voice of reason. I know a few bosnians and they are for the most part pleasant, gentle people, more secular than most Middle Eastern muslims, and in general nothing like this guy.
I realize I don't know this guy better than anyone else here does, so it's certainly possible the attack was an act of islamic terrorism. But I'm withholding judgement (for now).
Someone asked me to post the following on this thread:
i found this article from 2004 warning of these kinds of events occurring
http://securitysolutions.com/mag/security_malls_terrorist_targets/
and i found this article of a thwarted mall terror attack by another Muslim this past Christmas season
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/166248,CST-NWS-terror09.article
I wonder the same thing and then realize that the thread about the gold digger on Free Republic is over 5700 posts.
So, besides AM talk radio and world net daily:
HAS ANY MEDIA OUTLET MENTIONED THAT THIS GUY IS A MUSLIM?!!!!
And how many outlets are actively trying to hide his muslim name by pronouncing it "Soloman" instead of "Suliman"?!
Just wondering.
Nothing.
Are there any Freepers in Utah?
I can understand why the MSM has buried this story, but still...
Gunman kills five and seriously wounds several others.
This usually is sustained news for days, if not weeks.
What's going on?
Matt must be treading lightly as Levin did last night when he didn't mention the guy's religion. Levin was even too afraid to say the "M" word when he touched on the Sudan.
"What's going on?"
He's a member of the non-violent R.O.P., of course.
They don't want us to suspect the sleeper cells among us --- known as mosques.
probably had to look deep to gather this information.
FBI says no evidence of terrorism: http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5226238
"agents have looked into whether religion or terrorism were factors. "
Just took a walk thru Trolley Square (has one of my favorite restaurants).
The windows are all replaced...the holes from the bullets are all patched up....the blood on the tiles is all cleaned up.
Most of the stores are either open or are planning to re-open later tonight.
redrock
I believe reading the Koran and Hadiths will produce the same results. The 19 hijackers of 9-11 didn't all just snap.
People will kill for monetary rewards, but an eternal reward in paradise with Allah is much more of an insentive. - tom
Colour me shocked.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The FBI said Wednesday it has no reason to believe the shooting spree that killed five people in a shopping mall was an act of Islamic terrorism, leaving a young Bosnian immigrant’s motives a mystery.Note that under the rules of logic there is a world of difference between "we have no evidence of X" and "we have proof of non-X"“It’s just unexplainable,” FBI agent Patrick Kiernan said. “He was just walking around and shooting everybody he saw.”
This isn't news!Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes are talking about what we need to know, Anna Nicole Smith
And in another Tom Clancy novel ("Debt of Honor") somebody decides to avenge his country's dishonor by plowing a 747 into the Capitol building during a Presidential address.
Ya think Tom's being read in Arabic?
Wasn't Charles Bishop/Bishra also a Tom Clancy fan?
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