Clackamas County sheriff's Lt. James Rhodes says law enforcement who flooded the Clackamas Town Center in response to the afternoon shooting didn't fire any shots.
Dozens of shoppers and store employees left the mall with their arms raised, carefully following instructions from police. In the aftermath of the shooting, more than a hundred officers swarmed the mall to make sure those who had taken cover inside the back rooms of stores could leave safely. Kira Rowland told KGW-TV that she was shopping at Macy's with her infant when the shots started.
"All of a sudden you hear two shots, which sounded like balloons popping," Rowland told the station. "Everybody got on the ground. I grabbed the baby from the stroller and got on the ground."
Rowland said she heard people screaming and crying.
The mall was crowded with holiday shoppers when witnesses say a man dressed in black and wearing a white hockey mask similar to those in Friday the 13th horror movies, ran through the mall to a food court area.
He opened fire with what witnesses describe as an assault rifle. He hit three people, two of whom died. The third, an 18-year-old girl, is critically injured.
As the first officers arrived on the scene, the gunman shot himself. Police say the gunman's motive is still unclear.
Investigators have recovered his weapon, but are releasing few details.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
