Von Maur To Reopen Thursday
OMAHA, Neb. -- Von Maur said on Monday morning that it will reopen its Omaha store on Thursday, and Westroads Mall plans a vigil for victims on Wednesday night.
The Von Maur store at Westroads Mall was the site of a Dec. 5 shooting. Robert Hawkins, 19, killed eight people before taking his own life.
There was no word on the hours Von Maur would keep through the holidays, or whether the third floor will be open to the public. That is where Hawkins went on his rampage around the customer service desk.
On Wednesday night, Westroads will memorialize the victims on the south side of Von Maur at 8 p.m. Then, the public is invited to join Mayor Mike Fahey and the Douglas County Historical Society to remove and preserve the memorial that has sprung up on the steps.
Westroads General Manager Jim Sadler said the public will help to take down every single tribute: every snowflake, message drawing and teddy bear, and residents will help preserve them.
"The best way we can honor the victims and the families is to get this store reopened. Let the people of Omaha --and the country quite frankly -- see what Omaha is about; that this is not going to stop us. We are not going to change our way of life because of the senseless acts of one individual," Sadler said.
Von Maur said it will hold a brief ceremony in memory of those killed and hurt during the shooting before the store reopens at 10 a.m. Thursday. The ceremony will be held by the store's interior mall entrance.
Company president Jim von Maur said the company and his family are committed to doing everything they can to support and provide comfort to the victims, their families and the company's employees.
"The outpouring of Omaha's love and support has been deeply comforting," a statement from the company said. "You rallied around the victims, their families, and our associates without hesitation, providing help in many ways. From offering prayers and warm meals to contributing services and financial support, Omaha has been at the ready with kindness, care and compassion.
"While we are unable to thank each of you personally, we are grateful to the many first responders, medical professionals, religious organizations, non-profits, restaurants, hotels, banks neighborhood associations, contractors, local businesses, schools and individuals who have lent a helping hand or caring word. We also extend a special thank you to our associates who have supported each other during this difficult time.
"Omaha and the surrounding communities will always have a special place in our hearts."
More than $300,000 has been raised by the United Way for the Von Maur Victims Fund.
Also on Monday, a spokesman for Creighton University Medical Center said that shooting victim Micky Oldham, 65, has been upgraded to fair condition. Her co-worker, Fred Wilson, 61, is now in good condition at the Nebraska Medical Center.
Both Wilson and Oldham worked in Von Maur's customer service department.
Nine dead in Omaha mall shooting
Moderator: S2k Moderators
-
southerngale
- Retired Staff
- Posts: 27418
- Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2002 1:27 am
- Location: Southeast Texas (Beaumont area)
Re: Nine dead in Omaha mall shooting
Neb. Gunman Had Previous Suicide Attempt
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The teen gunman who fatally shot eight people in a mall earlier this month tried to kill himself by swallowing about 30 pills nearly two years earlier, according to court records released Wednesday.
Months later, Robert Hawkins left state care, with his father saying the boy "will have to stand or fall on his own."
A judge on Wednesday released case worker reports, a psychological evaluation and a letter to the court from Hawkins' father, Ron Hawkins. The judge also released 11 transcripts of Hawkins' earlier court proceedings, adding detail to Hawkins' troubled teen years.
The judge ordered the information released after motions were filed by several news organizations, including The Associated Press.
In one report, Hawkins, who had been in and out of the juvenile justice system since he was 14, told a social worker that he was feeling overwhelmed by court hearings and school.
He told the social worker, Angela Pick, that he wanted to die when he swallowed about 30 Tylenol pills in January 2006, she wrote in a report to Sarpy County Juvenile Court.
Her report said Hawkins "ended up in the emergency room" after taking the pills, but did not say how he got there. He was released to his father six days later and his demeanor "appeared to improve. His father and this worker observed him to be more positive," Pick wrote.
"He said that he never wanted to go through that again," she wrote.
Nearly two years later, on Dec. 5, the 19-year-old Hawkins walked into a department store in Omaha's Westroads Mall and fatally shot eight people and himself with an AK-47 rifle.
Hawkins walked away from state care after four years, not because he was prepared to face society on his own but because he was no longer cooperating, according to case workers.
"I think the only thing that will work is for him to learn it the hard way," Ron Hawkins wrote in an e-mail dated Aug. 18, 2006, three days before Hawkins left the system.
"He will have to stand or fall on his own to learn these lessons about life," Ron Hawkins wrote. "It is beyond my ability and I have to release him to God, praying that He will make sure that nothing happens to him that cannot be undone."
Robert Hawkins shrugged off criticism of his drug use, acknowledged dealing drugs to fund his marijuana habit and was up and down with school, the newly released information showed.
But a deep divide with his stepmother, Candace Hawkins, seems to have kept him from reconciling with a family that placed him in a Missouri treatment facility for threatening to kill her. Hawkins was transferred to Nebraska state custody in 2002 when his parents' insurance stopped paying for Hawkins to be at the facility.
Candace Hawkins said she would never feel comfortable around Hawkins again, and she said that if he did return it could lead to a divorce, the documents said. She gave up on therapy and separated from the gunman's father, the documents said.
Hawkins entered an outpatient drug program in May 2006, but was "unsuccessfully discharged" in July 2006 because of "negative behaviors and a failure to make a commitment to sobriety," according to a court report dated Aug. 17, 2006.
The report recommended that the court's jurisdiction be terminated, and Robert Hawkins' therapist and his father agreed.
"Robbie has been in the court system for many years and has reached maximum benefit from what the department can provide," Pick wrote. "... He has continued to make some poor decisions but not any that are a safety concern at this time."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hVYXjOfGYMebpWYh7i02fTan43VQD8TPHTDO0
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The teen gunman who fatally shot eight people in a mall earlier this month tried to kill himself by swallowing about 30 pills nearly two years earlier, according to court records released Wednesday.
Months later, Robert Hawkins left state care, with his father saying the boy "will have to stand or fall on his own."
A judge on Wednesday released case worker reports, a psychological evaluation and a letter to the court from Hawkins' father, Ron Hawkins. The judge also released 11 transcripts of Hawkins' earlier court proceedings, adding detail to Hawkins' troubled teen years.
The judge ordered the information released after motions were filed by several news organizations, including The Associated Press.
In one report, Hawkins, who had been in and out of the juvenile justice system since he was 14, told a social worker that he was feeling overwhelmed by court hearings and school.
He told the social worker, Angela Pick, that he wanted to die when he swallowed about 30 Tylenol pills in January 2006, she wrote in a report to Sarpy County Juvenile Court.
Her report said Hawkins "ended up in the emergency room" after taking the pills, but did not say how he got there. He was released to his father six days later and his demeanor "appeared to improve. His father and this worker observed him to be more positive," Pick wrote.
"He said that he never wanted to go through that again," she wrote.
Nearly two years later, on Dec. 5, the 19-year-old Hawkins walked into a department store in Omaha's Westroads Mall and fatally shot eight people and himself with an AK-47 rifle.
Hawkins walked away from state care after four years, not because he was prepared to face society on his own but because he was no longer cooperating, according to case workers.
"I think the only thing that will work is for him to learn it the hard way," Ron Hawkins wrote in an e-mail dated Aug. 18, 2006, three days before Hawkins left the system.
"He will have to stand or fall on his own to learn these lessons about life," Ron Hawkins wrote. "It is beyond my ability and I have to release him to God, praying that He will make sure that nothing happens to him that cannot be undone."
Robert Hawkins shrugged off criticism of his drug use, acknowledged dealing drugs to fund his marijuana habit and was up and down with school, the newly released information showed.
But a deep divide with his stepmother, Candace Hawkins, seems to have kept him from reconciling with a family that placed him in a Missouri treatment facility for threatening to kill her. Hawkins was transferred to Nebraska state custody in 2002 when his parents' insurance stopped paying for Hawkins to be at the facility.
Candace Hawkins said she would never feel comfortable around Hawkins again, and she said that if he did return it could lead to a divorce, the documents said. She gave up on therapy and separated from the gunman's father, the documents said.
Hawkins entered an outpatient drug program in May 2006, but was "unsuccessfully discharged" in July 2006 because of "negative behaviors and a failure to make a commitment to sobriety," according to a court report dated Aug. 17, 2006.
The report recommended that the court's jurisdiction be terminated, and Robert Hawkins' therapist and his father agreed.
"Robbie has been in the court system for many years and has reached maximum benefit from what the department can provide," Pick wrote. "... He has continued to make some poor decisions but not any that are a safety concern at this time."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hVYXjOfGYMebpWYh7i02fTan43VQD8TPHTDO0
0 likes
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: Majestic-12 [Bot] and 4 guests