BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Wednesday marks the second anniversary of the Boise Towne Square Mall shooting. A disturbed man killed two people, Jo Acker and Roberto Padilla Arguelles, and injured many others before taking his own life.
In the days and weeks that followed the shooting, the stories of what happened that day began to unfold.
An Apple employee rushed shoppers into a supply closet to keep them safe before they were let out a back door and hurried to their vehicles. Some Lane Bryant employees' quick thinking helped save others by ushering them to safety through a rear entrance.
Two Boise Police Officers can be seen in the body-cam video released by BPD chasing after the shooter. One bullet shot through the windshield of a cruiser, sending shattered glass into the face of one officer and the bullet through the brim of his baseball cap.
One officer who returned fire at the shooter was under investigation for the use of lethal force, a common practice anytime an Officer fires their weapon in the line of duty.
The Twin Falls Prosecuting Attorney, Grant P. Loebs, determined the officer was "not only lawfully attempting to apprehend a violent felon and defend other Law Enforcement Officers but was acting in self-defense and to stop an ongoing shooting spree which had taken the lives of two citizens and was a threat to the lives of others."
The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was rushed to the emergency room, where he was pronounced dead.
The police report after the shooting was a 496-page document that revealed the shooter was a felon in Illinois. His landlord told police he was a "gun enthusiast" who was "always playing with his firearms." Police would later find apparent bullet holes and spent casings in his apartment.
According to the police report, the shooter stopped in the middle of the attack to call what is speculated to be his father. He blamed the person on the other end of the call and his family before saying, "I have to go kill myself now."
Then Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee said, "The shooting at the mall was a shocking crime, happening in broad daylight at a place many of us have visited without incident. The result was horrifying. Two people, Jo Acker and Roberto Padilla Arguelles, lost their lives, multiple others were injured, and many more feared for their safety and the safety of their loved ones. Healing will take time."
He was right. We stop this Wednesday to remember both the heroes and the victims.
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