Parents wait for their children to be released from The Oaks mall after today’s deadly shooting. BOBBY CURTIS/Acorn Newspapers
Story updated 10:31 p.m. March 17, 2018 with statement from the mayor of Thousand Oaks.
A 30-year-old Thousand Oaks woman is dead and the shooter in grave condition after what police are calling a targeted attack this afternoon at the city’s busiest shopping center.
Sometime around 2:15 p.m. a man with a gun shot and killed his ex-wife at Paper Source, a stationery store in the outdoor section of The Oaks mall, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. The shooter then turned the weapon on himself, Police Chief Tim Hagel told the Acorn.
The sheriff’s department said the shooter, a 33-year-old from the Los Angeles area, came to the mall alone, walked into the store and then fatally shot her.
Neither the shooter nor his female victim has been identified. The shooter is currently at the hospital in critical condition, he said.
“We believe this was a focused attack,” Hagel said shortly after the shooting.
Jason Samuels of Agoura Hills places a kiss on his son Isaac’s head as he waits for his daughter Abby, 16, to exit the mall. The family had been shopping but were in different places at the time of shooting. BOBBY CURTIS/Acorn Newspapers
A handgun was recovered at the scene, said the police chief, who was sharing what details he could while trying to comfort grieving Paper Source employees who witnessed the murder.
As of 4:30 p.m., the indoor portion of the mall had been reopened. Deputies were still going store to store looking for potential witnesses, a sheriff’s department spokesperson said.
The outdoor portion of the mall will remain closed indefinitely while police investigate.
Sheriff’s department spokesperson Sgt. Eric Buschow said the victim has two children.
“We’ve checked on them and they are OK. That was a major concern for all of us,” Buschow said.
Investigators are currently searching both the shooter’s and the victim’s homes to try and figure out a possible motive for the killing.
People who were inside the mall at the time of the shooting describe a frightening and chaotic scene.
Autumn Montano, a 19-year-old college student, was in town on spring break visiting the mall with friends. The 2016 Thousand Oaks High School grad was standing outside Francesca’s on the second floor when the shooting happened.
“All of a sudden we heard people screaming,” she said. “We saw everyone running toward the food court so I just freaked out.”
The assistant manager shut the gate to the store’s entry and customers and employees sheltered in the stock room until they were given the all-clear by law enforcement, Montano said.
“My whole body was shaking and my heart was racing,” she said. “I was really very terrified for sure.”
A woman frantically tries to find out when shoppers caught in a lockdown after the shooting will be released from the mall. BOBBY CURTIS/Acorn Newspapers
Newbury Park resident Jess Weihe, author of the Anonymous Mommy blog, posted live updates during the incident. She was taking her 3-month-old daughter, Logan, on her first walk around the mall.
She was in White House Black Market on the first floor when the shots were fired, she said. She said a commotion erupted in the mall and people were screaming to hide.
“Everyone started to run,” she said. “I think people were obviously very panicked.”
Weihe was in the back of the store when the shooting happened.
“There was nowhere to go,” she said. “I thought if someone were to come in here with a gun, we were sitting ducks.”
She said initially, some store patrons hid in the store’s dressing rooms.
“But it’s just a curtain,” she said. “I think people were obviously very panicked.”
She said they spent two hours waiting for the store’s employees to get the OK to leave the store from police. She saids employees offered those sheltering in their stock room bottles of water and cookies.
Weihe said her infant handled the situation well.
“She basically slept through the whole thing,” she said. “She’s a little late for her bottle, but other than that, we’re OK.”
Thousand Oaks Mayor Andy Fox released a statement late Saturday night on the incident:
“On behalf of myself and the entire Thousand Oaks City Council, I extend our deepest condolences to the victim and their families. We are grateful to all that assisted during this tragic event including citizens and first responders. Domestic violence affects more than families, it affects entire communities.”
JUST IN: Families being reunited with loved ones as shoppers are being released from the mall. From @Bobby_AcornNews pic.twitter.com/XepGqlVmaN
— Thousand Oaks Acorn (@TOAcornNews) March 17, 2018