Tacoma Mall shooting

{{short description|Attempted mass murder in Tacoma, Washington}}

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = Tacoma Mall shooting

| caption = Mall security car at Tacoma Mall 1 day after the shooting

| location = Tacoma, Washington, United States

| target = Tacoma Mall

| date = November 20, 2005; 19 years ago

| time =

| timezone =

| type = Attempted mass murder, mass shooting

| fatalities = 0

| injuries = 7 (6 by gunfire)

| perp = Dominick Sergio Maldonado

| weapons = * Norinco MAK-90 semi-automatic rifle

Kimel AP-9 semi-automatic pistol

}}

The Tacoma Mall shooting was a mass shooting and attempted mass murder that occurred on November 20, 2005, at the Tacoma Mall in Tacoma, Washington, United States. The gunman, Dominick Maldonado, entered the mall with a semi-automatic Norinco MAK-90 rifle and a pistol, injuring six before he instigated four armed kidnappings.

Details

Dominick Maldonado entered the Tacoma shopping mall around 12:15pm, November 20, 2005, and quickly opened fire with a MAK-90 semi-automatic rifle. During the course of the shooting, Brendan (Dan) McKown, a mall employee, intervened. McKown drew his 9 mm CZ pistol but then had second thoughts of shooting "a kid". McKown (with his handgun still holstered){{Cite web|url=http://www.tacomaweekly.com/citylife/article/dan-mckown|title=Dan McKown, one decade later|language=en-US|access-date=2016-08-10|archive-date=September 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923201906/http://www.tacomaweekly.com/citylife/article/dan-mckown|url-status=live}} verbally commanded Maldonado to put down his gun. Maldonado's response was to fire on McKown, striking him once in the leg and four times in the torso, damaging McKown's spine and leaving him paralyzed. In addition to McKown, five other people were shot but not seriously injured, and a seventh person received a non-gunshot injury. At least one other person in the mall at the time also pulled a gun on Maldonado, but did not fire for fear of hitting innocent bystanders.{{cite web |title=Mall victim held fire at 'kid' |url=http://dwb.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5363616p-4853200c.html |publisher=thenewstribune.com |date=2005-11-29 |accessdate=2007-11-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123201615/http://dwb.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5363616p-4853200c.html |archivedate=2007-11-23 }} No one was killed during the shooting.

Maldonado then took four people hostage in a Sam Goody store, including two employees, a customer, and a 12-year-old boy whom he only briefly held captive before releasing. The hostage situation lasted until 4 p.m. when Maldonado surrendered to a Tacoma police SWAT team without further incident.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/20/mall.shooting/ |title=Mall shooting suspect surrenders |publisher=CNN.com |date=2007-11-02 |accessdate=2007-11-06 |archive-date=March 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322190806/http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/20/mall.shooting/ |url-status=live }}

Hostages taken during the incident chronicled their story on Biography Channel's I Survived....

Shooter

The perpetrator in the shootings was 20-year-old Dominick Sergio Maldonado (born September 22, 1985), who had an extensive juvenile criminal record including burglary, theft, and possession of burglary tools. He had also been given a court order not to possess any weapons. At the time of the shooting, Maldonado had recently separated from his girlfriend, and had been using methamphetamine without sleep for almost a week.{{cite news |title=Man arrested in Tacoma Mall shooting |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002636254_webmallshooting20.html |publisher=The Seattle Times |date=2005-11-20 |accessdate=2007-11-02 |first1=Emily |last1=Heffter |first2=Julia |last2=Sommerfeld |first3=Mike |last3=Carter |archive-date=February 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228023322/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002636254_webmallshooting20.html |url-status=live }}

=Trial and imprisonment=

Maldonado was charged with eight counts of first-degree assault, four counts of first-degree kidnapping, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, pleading not guilty to the charges. He has been represented by five different lawyers and three defense teams.{{cite web |url=http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_030306WABmaldonadoKC.80f94ee5.html |title=Plea offer for teen that injured seven scorned by defense |publisher=KING5.com |date=2006-03-03 |accessdate=2007-11-06 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927041117/http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_030306WABmaldonadoKC.80f94ee5.html |archivedate = 2007-09-27}}{{cite web |url=http://dwb.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/6168377p-5395811c.html |title=Fifth lawyer appointed to Tacoma Mall shooter |publisher=thenewstribune.com.com |date=2006-10-16 |accessdate=2007-11-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209113129/http://dwb.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/6168377p-5395811c.html |archivedate=2007-12-09 }}

Maldonado was convicted on October 2, 2007,{{Cite web|url=http://www.katu.com/news/local/10983411.html|title=Tacoma Mall shooter to spend 163 years in prison|access-date=March 15, 2008|archive-date=November 3, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103184214/http://www.katu.com/news/local/10983411.html|url-status=live}} and sentenced to 163 years in prison on November 2.{{cite web |url=http://www.kirotv.com/news/14498720/detail.html |title=Tacoma Mall Shooter Receives 163-Year Sentence |publisher=KIRO7 Eyewitness News |date=2007-11-02 |accessdate=2007-11-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104124802/http://www.kirotv.com/news/14498720/detail.html |archivedate=2007-11-04 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.king5.com/localnews/south/stories/NW_110207WAB_mall_shooting_sentencing_TP.1cf3724c4.html|title=Tacoma Mall shooter gets 163 year sentence|access-date=March 15, 2008|archive-date=April 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417093035/http://www.king5.com/localnews/south/stories/NW_110207WAB_mall_shooting_sentencing_TP.1cf3724c4.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/cfapps/linx/calendar/GetCriminalCase.cfm?cause_num=05-1-05774-4|title=Pierce County Superior Court Criminal Case 05-1-05774-4|access-date=March 15, 2008|archive-date=September 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928044931/http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/cfapps/linx/calendar/GetCriminalCase.cfm?cause_num=05-1-05774-4|url-status=live}} He unsuccessfully attempted to escape from the Clallam Bay Corrections Center on June 29, 2011.{{cite web|url=http://lakewood.patch.com/articles/tacoma-mall-shooter-involved-in-attempted-escape-at-clallam-bay-prison-3|title=Tacoma Mall Shooter Involved In Attempted Escape At Clallam Bay Prison|work=Lakewood Patch|last=Champaco|first=Brent|date=2011-06-29|accessdate=2011-06-29|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110703174937/http://lakewood.patch.com/articles/tacoma-mall-shooter-involved-in-attempted-escape-at-clallam-bay-prison-3|archivedate=2011-07-03}} During the escape attempt, Maldonado took a corrections officer hostage using a pair of scissors. Kevin Newland, a second inmate, was shot and killed by a guard after driving a forklift through a set of doors and crashing it into a perimeter fence. Maldonado was married in prison in the spring of 2007.{{Cite web |title=Prison Love: Girl Falls Hard, Marries Tacoma Mall Shooter |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/tacoma-mall-shooter-dominick-maldonado-impresses-girl-marries/story?id=14064236 |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

Citing "safety/security concerns", the Washington State Department of Corrections transferred Maldonado to ADX Florence in Colorado on May 11, 2016. He was briefly transferred out of ADX Florence but returned in May 2023, and remains incarcerated there.{{Cite web |last=Reilly |first=Patrick |date=2021-11-27 |title=Tacoma Mall shooting leaves one wounded while Black Friday shoppers take cover |url=https://nypost.com/2021/11/27/tacoma-mall-shooting-leaves-one-wounded-while-black-friday-shoppers-take-cover/ |access-date=2024-10-13 |language=en-US}}