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911 calls to police the night of the shootings at Trolley Square mall.Note: Graphic content.
Salt Lake City police today released hundreds of 911 calls that panicked shoppers, employees and other people made to emergency dispatchers as Sulejman Talovic rampaged through the Trolley Square mall on a killing spree.
"We just heard gunshots outside, and people are screaming," said Rene Roberts, an employee at Green Street Social Club.
Roberts made one of the first calls to 911 after Talovic fired his first shots in the west parking terrace. Her voice grows more panicked as she realizes the severity of the situation. She said she heard between four and seven shots.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. There's like people like running," she said.
On Feb. 12, Talovic opened fire at the mall with a 12-gauge shotgun and a .38-caliber handgun. He shot and killed Jeffrey Walker, 52, in the parking garage and wounded his 16-year-old son, Alan "AJ" Walker. He then wounded Shawn Munns.
Brad Merrill told dispatchers he heard at least 10 shots fired.
"There's a guy with a shotgun shooting up Trolley Square," he said. "I saw him with a shotgun. He shot out a window and was chasing somebody. He was running around the main floor of Trolley Square."
Several employees called police after locking themselves in a bathroom or storage room.
"This is so scary," one frightened employee told dispatchers.
Walking inside the mall, police said Vanessa Quinn, 29, was shot and killed outside Bath and Body Works. She was on her way to meet her husband to purchase wedding bands.
At the Cabin Fever novelty and card shop, Talovic shot five people. Teresa Ellis, 29, was killed alongside Brad Frantz, 24. Kirsten Hinckley, 15, was also shot dead. Her mother, 44-year-old Carolyn Tuft, survived and is now hospitalized in fair condition after undergoing a series of surgeries. Stacy Hanson, 53, was also wounded and his condition slipped from fair to serious on Tuesday, hospital officials said.
The seven emergency dispatchers working for Salt Lake City Police that night received over 500 calls for the Trolley incident alone. Today, the first 30 minutes of calls taken from all seven dispatchers were released, as well as the two-way radio traffic between dispatchers and responding police officers.
During the shooting rampage, Talovic encountered off-duty Ogden police officer Ken Hammond.
Hammond's wife, Sarita, called 911 from Rodizio Grill shortly after her husband went after the gunman.
"There's a guy shooting with a rifle. He shot a couple of people. I know there's at least two people shot," he said.
Sarita Hammond's voice can be heard growing more panicked as more shots are fired from inside the mall. The dispatcher tells her to lock the doors and get everyone in the restaurant away from the windows.
"My husband is an Ogden City cop. He has a gun. He's off duty. He's out there somewhere. He has a badge and gun but he's off duty," she told the Salt Lake dispatcher. "There's more shots, there's more shots. We saw two people down. They were shot."
Hammond and Talovic exchanged shots. Salt Lake City police officers arrived, and Talovic was confronted inside the Pottery Barn Kids store and killed.
Talovic is expected to be buried by the end of this week in his native Bosnia. The 18-year-old immigrated to the United States with his family in 1998. Friends and co-workers described him as an isolated, lonely young man.
Police said a motive for the shooting rampage remains unknown.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com; bwinslow@desnews.com