FastNewsBeat
With brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…
• KTIV-TV News reports that "a Target store in west Omaha will remain closed as police continue to investigate a fatal shooting incident Tuesday that many witnesses told 6 News could have been far more deadly.
"Omaha Police on Tuesday afternoon were asking the public to avoid the area around a Target location in west Omaha after a gunman was shot at killed at the store.
"At 11:59 a.m., Omaha Police officers were dispatched to the Target location near 180th Street and West Center Road after reports of shots fired in the store. A heavy police presence was seen at the location shortly after noon."
The story says that "in a news conference about an hour after the incident, the chief said that a white man in his 30s walked into the store and began firing immediately as entered, though police didn’t yet know whether the man was firing at anyone in particular or whether he was specifically targeting anyone there.
"A Nebraska State trooper along with OPD officers arrived and shot the shooter, killing him."
Target said via social media: "Following an incident in our Omaha West store, we can confirm that all guests and team members safely evacuated the store. The store will remain closed until further notice." Target also said that "employees would be paid while the store was closed and that they would provide access to on-site counseling for those who need it."
This, unfortunately, is a reality that every retailer has to deal with today - that at any moment, random gun violence could break out in their stores. Welcome to America, where exceptionalism more and more is defined by our ability and willingness to kill each other.
If I sound disheartened, it is because I just read a piece in our local paper about how all our public schools are going to get new security officers - in addition to the guards at the front doors - who "will be equipped with a firearm, a Taser and pepper spray. They will also have a tourniquet, a body camera and a radio to communicate directly" with local police. My daughter is a teacher, and I find myself thinking that some sort of shooting in her school is inevitable, not possible. And I wonder how many parents think the same thing when they put their kids on the bus in the morning.
