Yesterday at noon, on November 20th, Dominick S. Maldonado strolled into the Tacoma Mall armed with two assault weapons. He also made a phone call to police dispatchers. When asked his location, he said "Just follow the screams."

Those were some of the details released in court documents Monday as 20-year-old Maldonado plead not guilty. He was held in the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail.

The suspect is accused of walking into the mall Sunday noon with an assault weapon and firing at eight people, hitting six of them. He also held four shoppers hostage in a music store, but later released them unharmed.

Sorry, kids- no witty remarks from me on this one. Random shootings aren't funny, whether they're from my hometown (like this one happens to be) or yours.

Idjit

HOPEFUL

I'm lost

NOV 21, 2005 02:55 PM

Has someone broken the news to him that Johnny Cochran's already dead?

waldo

I'm lost

June 2004

NOV 21, 2005 03:26 PM

alpha_hazard

Fort Collins, CO

April 2004

NOV 21, 2005 03:27 PM

huh...well, I guess that's democracy for ya, 12 folks who could be doing something better with their time are forced to listen to a handful of psychologists and eyewitnesses.

EndedBen

Grand Rapids, MI

August 2004

NOV 21, 2005 03:28 PM

alpha_hazard said:
huh...well, I guess that's democracy for ya, 12 folks who could be doing something better with their time are forced to listen to a handful of psychologists and eyewitnesses.

And your alternative is?

Autrix

San Francisco, CA

January 2004

NOV 21, 2005 03:40 PM

What an asshat.

Subrosa

San Francisco, CA

July 2004

NOV 21, 2005 03:48 PM

SuperNintendo said:

alpha_hazard said:
huh...well, I guess that's democracy for ya, 12 folks who could be doing something better with their time are forced to listen to a handful of psychologists and eyewitnesses.

And your alternative is?

Star Chamber, obviously.

SupremePizzaMan

Seattle, WA

September 2003

NOV 21, 2005 03:49 PM

Which leads me to my next point.

Don't.Smoke.Crack.

SupremePizzaMan

Seattle, WA

September 2003

NOV 21, 2005 03:51 PM

I saw the breaking news thing on this yesterday. I felt most sorry for the fatties like myself being videotaped hurriedly jogging away from the mall, but it was that restrained not fully jogging motion, so it looked even worse.

DeadBilly

Burnt Cabins, PA

February 2004

NOV 21, 2005 04:21 PM

This has long been one of my greatest fears. It should be fucking obvious that living in a small town is no isolation from violence. But an incident like this is a graphic reminder.

Trevallion

Murfreesboro, TN

February 2004

NOV 21, 2005 10:45 PM

Wow. Another good reason to stay out of Tacoma.

Anton

Australia

September 2003

NOV 21, 2005 11:01 PM

SuperNintendo said:

alpha_hazard said:
huh...well, I guess that's democracy for ya, 12 folks who could be doing something better with their time are forced to listen to a handful of psychologists and eyewitnesses.

And your alternative is?

If he floats, he's guilty.

malkav11

Saint Paul, MN

July 2003

NOV 22, 2005 12:44 AM

And if he sinks, he's not only guilty, he's liable for the cost of fishing his corpse out of the water and cleaning the corpse-taint out of the water.

Either way, the person who did this clearly needed to stay home and play more videogames.

BurningKrome

San Jose, CA

April 2005

NOV 22, 2005 10:04 AM

I used to work at Tacoma mall. Shootings and stabbings and shit was always happening there. This is just the worst case Ive heard of. Tacoma mall is surrounded by all the really distraught neighborhoods. I remember, when I was on shift there, a kid got stabbed at the McDonalds...so we went out to his car, got a gun and shot the guy who stabbed him.

Crazy assed shit.

Hey, maybe this is one of the affects of McDonalds food left out of Supersize me! :-)

crispy

NEWSWIRE

Philadelphia, PA

NOV 22, 2005 10:08 AM

I also read in the paper this morning that he text-messaged his (recent) ex-girlfriend saying, "Today the world will see my anger."

^^This was before the shootings.
He also called her DURING the hostage standoff ... hold on, let me get the paper ...

[Edited on Nov 22, 2005 by crispy]

crispy

NEWSWIRE

Philadelphia, PA

NOV 22, 2005 10:15 AM

Alright ... here's the article I read this morning. I 'spoilered' it because Philly.com requires registration. I bolded the stuff I referenced above

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

Mall gunman: 'Just follow the screams'

Associated Press

TACOMA, Wash. - A man accused of a shooting rampage at a crowded shopping mall told cops to "just follow the screams" when he called them shortly before opening fire with a pair of assault rifles, according to court documents.

Plans for making bombs and poison were found after a search of the man's car and bedroom, prosecutors said yesterday. Dominick Sergio Maldonado, 20, was ordered held on $2 million bail.

According to the court documents, Maldonado told detectives that he had been humiliated during a troubled childhood and that recent problems made him want to be "heard." A text message to his ex-girlfriend minutes before the rampage said he was about to show the world his anger, the woman said.

Six people were injured, one critically, in Sunday's attack. Maldonado surrendered about four hours after he ducked into a music store and took four hostages, all of whom were released unharmed, authorities said.

In the documents, prosecutors said Maldonado, of Tacoma, denied that he had intended to shoot anyone, but was trying to draw media attention.

Police said they got a call just before the melee erupted, with the caller saying he was armed with two assault rifles and about to start shooting. When the dispatcher asked the man where he was, he replied, "Just follow the screams," the papers said.

The documents said police searched Maldonado's car and bedroom, finding a formula for making the poison ricin, as well as bomb-making diagrams and materials, and body silhouette targets.

Tiffany Robison, 20, Maldonado's ex-girlfriend, said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" yesterday that he sent her a text message shortly before noon Sunday reading: "Today is the day that the world will know my anger."

"I think honestly that he just wanted attention. It's the sick attention that he wanted," Robison told ABC. They broke up months earlier "because of an issue with a drug," she said.

Her mother, Mary Simon, 47, of Tacoma, said she was at home when her daughter got the troubling cell-phone text message.

"When she got the message, she freaked out and took it very seriously," Simon said yesterday. "And then when she heard about the shooting, she knew in an instant that it was him."

Robison got a call from Maldonado at the mall during the rampage and hostage standoff.

"He just said, 'Well, I just shot up the mall, and I'm busy now,' " Simon said.

Of the couple's breakup, Simon said her daughter told her Maldonado had "made a lot of changes and said a lot of things that spooked her, and so she broke it off. He was reaching out for help and nobody was listening, was what she said."

Maldonado was charged with eight counts of first-degree assault, four counts of kidnapping, and two of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Wren

SUICIDEGIRL

Minnesota, USA

NOV 22, 2005 10:23 AM

What a dick.