New Jersey Shooting Suspect Dead of Self-Inflicted Wound; No Injuries Reported at Mall Shooting
Police confirmed that the suspect in the New Jersey mall shooting was found dead of a self-inflicted wound. Richard Shoop, 20, was found in the back of the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New Jersey; he reportedly took his own life with the same weapon he used during the shooting and left a suicide note.
Thankfully, there were no other injuries during the shooting, which occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m., when Shoop entered the mall and began firing. Customers and mall employees immediately sought cover as Shoop shot at least six rounds before stopping. According to CNN, he was dressed in all black and wore a motorcycle helmet.
"It was almost like when you're watching a horror movie and the killer is walking slowly – that's what it seemed like," mall employee Allie Cozic told CNN. "He was wearing all black – it almost looked like body armor of some kind. As soon as I saw the gun, I just turned and ran."
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Officials noted that Shoop left behind a note, which will hopefully provide some information as to why he went on the shooting spree.
"We believe that he went in there with the intent to either be shot by police, which we call suicide by cop, or to take his own life, which ultimately he did," Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said early Tuesday morning.
The prosecutor added that Shoop had a history of drug abuse and violence but that police never expected him to do such a thing.
"You wouldn't think that at age 20, how much can you do in your life, but in his life, he at least thought he was reaching a point where there was no recourse but to take his own life," Molinelli said.
However, authorities know the situation could have been a lot worse and are thankful that no one was harmed in the attack.
"There were thousands of people in this mall at 9:20 tonight, and many of them were within 5 feet of him," Molinelli explained. "He clearly had the ability to shoot an individual."
The Garden State Plaza mall will remain closed today, Tuesday, as police continue to collect evidence and try to put together a more concise picture of what happened last night.
