The masked gunman who killed two people in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., was identified today as Jacob Tyler Roberts.
Roberts, 22, was armed with a stolen AR-15 semi-automatic weapon, Sheriff Craig Roberts told a news conference today. He was not wearing a bullet-proof vest as previously reported.
Earlier today the sheriff told "Good Morning America" the gunman was intent on killing "as many people as possible."
The shooter, wearing a white hockey mask, black clothing and a bullet proof vest, tore through the mall just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, entering through a Macy's store and heading to the food court and public areas spraying bullets, according to witness reports.
"We have been able to identify the shooter over this last night," Roberts said. "I believe, at least from the information that's been provided to me at this point in time, it really was a killing of total strangers. To my knowledge at this point in time he was really trying, I think, to kill as many people as possible."
Police said today that Roberts had stolen the gun from someone he knew, and was equipped with a load bearing vest and "several" fully loaded magazines. Police are still trying to determine how many shots were fired.
The shooting victims were identified as Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, and Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45.
Yuille's family released a statement today calling Yuille a "wonderful person."
"Cindy was everybody's friend, she was a wonderful person, she was very caring and put others first," the family said, noting that they needed time to grieve their loss.
Forsyth, who owned a business at the mall, was described as a married father of two who an active member of his community.
"Steven Matthew Forsyth was a loving husband, a father of two children, a son, a brother, an uncle, a longtime youth sports coach and friend to the many people that had the privilege to meet him," the family said in a statement.
"Steve was one of most passionate people, with an entrepenurial spirit that led him to start his business," they said, noting he had a "zest for life, a vision and belief in others that brought great joy.."
"He will be sorely missed by those that knew him," they said.
The injured victim, identified by hospital officials as Kristina Shevchenko, 15, was taken to a hospital and has undergone an initial surgery, according to a Facebook page set up by her family members. Family members said a bullet bruised her lung but avoided piercing any major organs.
Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images
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Police said today that Roberts parked his car outside of the Macy's department store at the mall, entered the mall on the second floor, and then "moved quickly" toward the food court, firing shots. Both victims were hit by bullets near the food court, police said. Other shoppers provided medical aid to the victims.
Roberts' gun jammed briefly while shooting at the food court, but he was able to continue shooting after it resumed working, police said.
Roberts then ran down a hallway and a flight of stairs to the first floor of the mall, near an REI store, where he apparently shot himself, police said.
Shevchenko was hit on the second floor but made it outside to the first floor, where she met police and was transproted to the hospital, police said.
Police searched Roberts' home and car in the wake of the shooting, but did not disclose what they found. They confirmed that his fingerprints matched prints in a law enforcement database, though they did not find any crimes he was convicted of.
Sheriff Craig Roberts said that he believed that the gun jamming, in addition to the quick response of mall employees to enact lockdown procedures, prevented more individuals from being shot and killed during the spree.
The sheriff said that the first calls of gunshots came in at 3:29 p.m. and the first police officers to respond arrived at the mall at 3:30 p.m.
"Officers initiated an active shooter protocol, a technique we train with, and equipped each of our officers to move to immediately engage the threat wherever it might be. We were well prepared for this incident. We had practiced active shooter techniques at Clackamas Town Center earlier this year, we had practiced for just this type of situation," Sheriff Roberts said.
Witnesses from the shooting rampage said that a young man who appeared to be a teenager, ran through the upper level of Macy's to the mall food court, firing multiple shots, one right after the other, with what is believed to be a black, semi-automatic rifle.
By 4:40 p.m., police reported finding a group of people hiding in a storeroom. In a surreal moment, even the mall Santa was seen running for his life.
"I didn't know where the gunman was, so I decided to kind of eased my way out," said the mall Santa, who the AP identified as 68-year-old Brance Wilson.
More than 10,000 shoppers were at the mall during the day, according to police. Roberts said that officers responded to the scene of the shooting within minutes, and four SWAT teams swept the 1.4 million-square-foot building searching for the shooter. He was eventually found dead, an apparent suicide.
"I can confirm the shooter is dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," Rhodes said. "By all accounts there were no rounds fired by law enforcement today in the mall."
Roberts said more than 100 law enforcement officers responded to the shooting, and the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are working with local agencies to trace the shooter's weapon.
Cell phone video shot at the scene shows the chaos soon after the shooting. When police arrived they were met head on by terrified shoppers, children and employees streaming out. Customers, even a little girl, were being lead out with their hands up.
"I think a variety of things happened that I think this could have been much, much worse," Roberts told "GMA." "And to give you some ideas, we got the call at 3:29, we had someone on scene within a minute, 30 seconds.
Mall Gunman Identified as Jacob Tyler Roberts
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Mall Gunman Identified as Jacob Tyler Roberts
