Saturday, November 22, 2008

SEATTLE: SOUTHCENTER MALL -2 SHOT (1 DIED) IN TEEN SHOOTOUT

KATU.COM - KOMO TV / SEATTLE
A shooting victim is loaded into an aid car at Southcenter Mall shortly after the shootings there.

A crowd standing in a parking garage watches police clear the mall. (November 22, 2008) Mike Kane/Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

A King County Sheriff's officer stands guard as as police clear the mall. (November 22, 2008) Mike Kane/Seattle Post-Intelligencer )


HARBORVIEW MEDICAL CENTER, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

2 shot at Southcenter mall, 1 dead; suspect at large
One teenager is dead and another wounded following a shooting this afternoon at Westfield Southcenter mall in Tukwila.
November 22, 2008 / By Seattle Times staff
Seattle Times staff reporters Erik Lacitis, Nick Perry, Eric Pryne and Tan Vinh contributed to this story.

One teenager is dead and another wounded following a shooting this afternoon at Westfield Southcenter mall in Tukwila.

Police are searching for a suspect inside the mall, which has been locked down for hours. Many shoppers and store employees fled the mall after shots were reported just before 3:45 p.m.

The two victims were transported to Harborview Medical Center. A Harborview spokeswoman confirmed the identity of the dead teen as Daiquin L. Jones, 16. A 15-year-old boy, Jermaine McGowen, remains in serious condition, but his injuries are described as non-life-threatening.

The incident occurred near the south main entrance of the mall, in a corridor near two restaurants. Police said they have talked to one eyewitness and are reviewing surveillance tapes.

The suspect is described as a black male in his late teens or early 20s, of average build, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 145 pounds. He was believed to be wearing a black jumpsuit with red piping.

(snip)

The mall parking lot was a mess, witnesses said, as police evacuated people there from inside.

"Everyone's standing around outside. There's no movement. Cars are taking up every space and traffic's not moving," said a worker at the Olive Garden restaurant, located in the mall parking lot, shortly after the shooting.

ANOTHER KILLER NEEDS TO BE CAUGHT...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008424364_webmallshooting.html

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

ST. JOHNS, ARIZONA: VINCENT ROMERO'S SON TALKS TO POLICE

MyFOXPhoenix.com
Vincent Romero

AP / Nov. 10, 2008: A man arrives at the funeral of Vincent Romero at the St. John the Baptist church in St. Johns, Ariz.

AP / Nov. 8, 2008: The house where Vincent Romero, 29, and Timothy Romans, 39, of San Carlos, Ariz., were found fatally shot.

Police say an 8-year-old boy confessed to murder. Legal analysts say the questioning crossed the line.

Experts: Interrogation of boy, 8, 'out of bounds'
By Ann O'Neill / CNN

(CNN) -- The third-grader's legs dangle at times from an overstuffed chair as he answers the questions of two female police officers. His manner and voice are casual, even helpful, but his words are shocking.

And so, legal analysts say, were the methods police used to obtain them.

By the time the boy was finished talking, say police in St. Johns, Arizona, he'd confessed to a premeditated double murder.

The 8-year-old is charged in juvenile court with killing his father, Vincent Romero, 29, along with Tim Romans, 39, a man who rented a room in Romero's home. Police have said the boy confessed to shooting the men. He has not entered a plea.

He will be allowed to leave a juvenile jail for 48 hours to spend Thanksgiving with his mother, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The furlough will start at noon November 26 and end at noon on November 28, Apache County court administrator Betty Smith told CNN.

Legal analysts who spoke with CNN were united in their opinion that the police questioning was improper and that any incriminating statements the boy made shouldn't stand up in court.

A review of the tapes shows that the boy's demeanor was more suitable for a session of show-and-tell than for a soul-baring confession as he describes the carnage he saw inside his home. He does not appear to be depressed, scared or sorrowful.


The body of his father's roommate was sprawled downstairs, he says. He ran through the house, shouting, "Daaaad! Dad!" His father was lying dead upstairs.

HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? READ MORE...