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A shooting Saturday morning at a mall in central Florida left two people dead and one other injured in what police called a “domestic situation.”
Police in Melbourne, Florida, said the gunman — identified as Jose Garcia Rodriguez, 57 — shot his wife, Ida Garcia, 33. Melbourne Police said they believe Rodriguez then turned the gun on himself and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A Florida man had “several pockets full of ammunition” when he targeted his wife in a shooting Saturday morning that killed two people at a mall food court, police said.
Around 100 people were in the mall preparing to open their stores for shoppers at 10 a.m. when officers responded to reports of multiple gunshots around 9:30 a.m.
“We were still hearing shots when the first officers arrived on scene,” Pryce said.
Officers evacuated the mall, assisting some employees who had locked themselves in closets when they heard gunfire, Pryce said.
Three handguns were recovered from the scene. When officers found the three victims, Garcia “had several pockets full of ammunition,” Pryce said.
“We believe this may stem from a domestic violence incident,” he said.
Mall officials posted a statement to Facebook saying the mall would remain closed until further notice while police continued their investigation. Pryce said authorities planned for the mall to reopen today.
Local television news broadcasts showed yellow police tape stretched across a mall entrance and parking lot.
Donna Evans of Melbourne said she was in the food court when she heard gunfire about 20 feet to 25 feet away.
“We had just gotten our food to sit down by Starbucks and Chick-fil-A, and you just hear the ‘pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,’ and you just drop everything and your body just makes you run,” Evans told Florida Today.
Agencies/Canadajournal
