No Motive In Vegas Shooting
Police don't know why a man dressed in camouflage and armed with a shotgun opened fire Thursday in a Las Vegas supermarket, killing four people.
Zane Floyd, a former Marine, began chasing his panicking victims. One by one, workers were shot at close range as they fled for their lives, their blood smearing the polished aisles of the Albertsons store.
By the time the carnage ended early Thursday, four employees were dead and another was critically wounded. After a brief standoff with police outside the store, the 23-year-old gunman surrendered.
"He took the path of least resistance, shooting at everybody he saw," Las Vegas Sheriff Jerry Keller said. "He roamed throughout the store."
Correspondent Anita Lightfoot of CBS Affiliate KLAS-TV reports that all four victims were employees of the Albertsons supermarket. One man is in the hospital in critical condition.
"We're unsure why he chose this place to go on a rampage," Lt. Wayne Petersen said.
"This guy would remind you of the guy next door," said Laura Sellers, who owns a security company from which Floyd recently was fired.
Floyd was booked Thursday for investigation of four counts of murder and one of attempted murder. Identities of the victims were not available early Friday.
Police said they know of no link between the store workers and Floyd, other than that he lived for years with his parents in a house two blocks away.
Those who knew Floyd said he was honorably discharged from the Marines last summer, liked to spend time with friends from a bar where he worked once a week as a bouncer. He spent part of Memorial Day weekend joking with them at a swim party and barbecue.
Tony Marquez, who worked with Floyd at Sneakers bar and restaurant, described Floyd as "just a regular guy who likes to party and hang out like me."
"He's a good guy. I just can't understand it," Marquez said.
According to Sellers, Floyd appeared agitated and "a little bit more sarcastic" on Wednesday night, when he arrived at Affirmative Security to pick up a final paycheck. He'd been fired May 14 from his $7-an-hour job with the company after he began missing shifts and acting differently, she said.
Still, Sellers said: "We're not looking at a bad boy or someone who would go insane at all. In all honesty, he didn't have any real quirks."
Police say that a few hours after picking up his check, Floyd walked into the market and began firing away with a pump-action shotgun. He was apprehended only after police persuaded him not to take his own life.
Lt. Rick Alba said police do not believe robbery was a motive and they have not determined any connection between the victims and the suspect. Police received word of the shooting around 5:15 a.m.
The bodies were found at different places in the store, which is about two miles west of the casinos on the Las Vegas strip, he sid.
"We're just horrified by this. This is tragic, inexplicable and we are sickened by it," said Michael Reed, vice president of public affairs at Albertsons' headquarters in Boise, Idaho.
The company, which has 995 stores in 25 states, sent a counseling team to help employees cope with the shooting.
After the man began firing, two women employees, age 20 and 34, hid for three hours in a produce cooler, where they were discovered by police.
"They were very upset from the whole incident. They were very cold, they were inside the cooler. We are trying to get them warm," said Kathi Rice, a spokeswoman for American Medical Response, an ambulance service.
The supermarket is located at a shopping mall at one of the city's busiest intersections. Police cordoned off the area.
Across from the store's parking lot, Albertsons employees and family members gathered at Carl's Jr. restaurant, surrounded by police and store officials. Some were crying as they embraced each other.