Woman shot dead by ex-husband at California mall identified
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Authorities have released the names of the woman and the ex-husband who shot her to death at a busy Southern California mall. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office identified the victim in Saturday's shooting as 29-year-old Parisa Siddiqi and the suspect as 33-year-old Kevin Crane.
CBS Los Angeles reports Siddiqi was working at the Paper Source stationary store at The Oaks mall in the city of Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles west of Los Angeles, when her ex-husband entered the store, began arguing with her and fatally shot her.
Investigators say Crane then shot himself, but survived and remained in critical condition Sunday at a hospital.
Ventura County sheriff's Sgt. Eric Buschow said Saturday that the divorced couple has children, who were found safe.
The shooting prompted shoppers to scurry into stores and out exit doors and an hour-long lockdown.
Mall employee Stephanie Fallon told CBS Los Angeles she sat in a closet for almost two hours.
"I was able to kind of look up some articles, then every few minutes, see if there were any updates," said Fallon.
Jeffrey Simpson, 17, was shopping with his mother at a department store when an announcement came over the intercom about a threat outside the mall.
"I went to Nordstrom to get pants, and the next thing I know, the doors are being sealed," Simpson told The Associated Press.
He said he and his mom were "a little shaken" but OK. They were in the store for more than an hour but shoppers were free to move around and employees were helping people stay comfortable and calm, Simpson said.