Tacoma Mall shooting
Encyclopedia
The Tacoma Mall shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on November 20, 2005 at the Tacoma Mall
in Tacoma, Washington, United States
. The gunman, Dominick Maldonado, entered the mall with a semi-automatic
Norinco MAK-90
rifle and a pistol
, injuring six before he instigated four armed kidnapping
s.
pistol and verbally commanded Maldonado to put down his gun. Maldonado's response was to fire on McKown, striking him once in the leg and four times in the torso, damaging McKown's spine and leaving him paralyzed. In addition to McKown, five other people were shot but not seriously injured, and a seventh person received a non-gunshot injury. At least one other person in the mall at the time also pulled a gun on Maldonado but did not fire for fear of hitting innocent bystanders.
Maldonado then took four people hostage in a Sam Goody
store, including two employees, a customer, and a 12-year-old boy whom he only briefly held captive before releasing. The attack began shortly after noon, and the hostage situation lasted until four p.m. when Maldonado surrendered to a Tacoma police SWAT
team without further incident.
Hostages taken during the incident chronicle their story on Biography Channel's I Survived...
.
criminal record including burglary
, theft
, and possession of burglary tools. He had also been given a court order
not to possess any weapons. At the time of the shooting, Maldonado had recently separated from his girlfriend, and had been taking methamphetamine
for five days.
, four counts of first-degree kidnapping
, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. Maldonado pleaded not guilty to the charges and has since been through five different lawyer
s and three defense teams.
Maldonado was convicted on October 2, 2007 and sentenced to 163 years in prison on November 2. He unsuccessfully attempted to escape from the Clallam Bay Corrections Center
on June 29, 2011.During the escape attempt 25-year-old Dominick Maldonado took a corrections officer hostage using a pair of scissors. Kevin Newland, a second inmate, was shot and killed by a guard after driving a forklift through a set of doors and crashing it into a perimeter fence.
Tacoma Mall
The Tacoma Mall is the largest shopping center in Tacoma, Washington. It is owned by Simon Property Group. Anchor tenants include JC Penney, Sears, Macy's, and Nordstrom.-References:-External links:*...
in Tacoma, Washington, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The gunman, Dominick Maldonado, entered the mall with a semi-automatic
Semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...
Norinco MAK-90
Type 56 Assault Rifle
The Type 56 assault rifle is a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle, which has been manufactured since 1956. It was produced by State Factory 66 from 1956-73, then by Norinco from 1973 onwards.-Service history:...
rifle and a pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
, injuring six before he instigated four armed kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
s.
Details
During the course of the shooting, Brandon (Dan) McKown, a legally armed citizen, intervened. McKown drew his 9mm CZCZ 85
The CZ 85 is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for 9mm Luger.It was manufactured in Czechoslovakia by Česká Zbrojovka. It is an updated version of the CZ 75, and has slight changes made to internal parts to increase reliability, and has an ambidextrous safety switch and slide stop, making the...
pistol and verbally commanded Maldonado to put down his gun. Maldonado's response was to fire on McKown, striking him once in the leg and four times in the torso, damaging McKown's spine and leaving him paralyzed. In addition to McKown, five other people were shot but not seriously injured, and a seventh person received a non-gunshot injury. At least one other person in the mall at the time also pulled a gun on Maldonado but did not fire for fear of hitting innocent bystanders.
Maldonado then took four people hostage in a Sam Goody
Sam Goody
Sam Goody was a music and entertainment retailer in the United States and United Kingdom, and was owned and operated by Trans World Entertainment which also runs FYE, Saturday Matinee, and Suncoast Motion Picture Company. It specialized in music, video, and video game sales...
store, including two employees, a customer, and a 12-year-old boy whom he only briefly held captive before releasing. The attack began shortly after noon, and the hostage situation lasted until four p.m. when Maldonado surrendered to a Tacoma police SWAT
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
team without further incident.
Hostages taken during the incident chronicle their story on Biography Channel's I Survived...
I Survived...
I Survived... is a documentary television series produced by NHNZ that airs on The Biography Channel. The series premiered on March 24, 2008 and airs new episodes Sunday nights. The show allows survivors to explain, in their own words, how they overcame life-threatening circumstances without...
.
The shooter
The perpetrator in the shootings was 20-year-old Dominick Sergio Maldonado, who had an extensive juvenileMinor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
criminal record including burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
, theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
, and possession of burglary tools. He had also been given a court order
Court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case...
not to possess any weapons. At the time of the shooting, Maldonado had recently separated from his girlfriend, and had been taking methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
for five days.
Trial and imprisonment
Maldonado was charged with eight counts of first-degree assaultAssault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, four counts of first-degree kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. Maldonado pleaded not guilty to the charges and has since been through five different lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s and three defense teams.
Maldonado was convicted on October 2, 2007 and sentenced to 163 years in prison on November 2. He unsuccessfully attempted to escape from the Clallam Bay Corrections Center
Clallam Bay Corrections Center
Clallam Bay Corrections Center is situated on the Olympic Peninsula in Clallam County, two miles south of the community of Clallam Bay, Washington....
on June 29, 2011.During the escape attempt 25-year-old Dominick Maldonado took a corrections officer hostage using a pair of scissors. Kevin Newland, a second inmate, was shot and killed by a guard after driving a forklift through a set of doors and crashing it into a perimeter fence.
See also
- Westroads Mall shootingWestroads Mall shootingThe Westroads Mall shooting was a murder-suicide that occurred on Wednesday, December 5, 2007, at the Von Maur department store in the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Nineteen-year-old Robert A. Hawkins killed nine people and wounded four, two of them critically...
- Trolley Square shootingTrolley Square shootingThe Trolley Square shooting was a shooting spree that occurred on the evening of February 12, 2007, at Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States...
- Appalachian School of Law shootingAppalachian School of Law shootingThe Appalachian School of Law shooting was a school shooting that occurred on January 16, 2002, at the Appalachian School of Law, an American Bar Association accredited private law school in Grundy, Virginia, United States...
- Tyler courthouse shootingTyler courthouse shootingThe Tyler courthouse shooting refers to a February 24, 2005 shootout in which David Hernandez Arroyo Sr. opened fire on his ex-wife and son in front of the Smith County Courthouse in Tyler, Texas, then engaged police and court officers in a shootout...
- Sello mall shootingSello mall shootingThe Sello mall shooting occurred on the morning of 31 December 2009 shortly after 10:08 local time at the Sello Prisma hypermarket in Leppävaara district of Espoo, Finland. The shooting was believed to have been started after Ibrahim Shkupolli, the alleged gunman, found that his ex-girlfriend had a...