Thread: 2 dead after shots fired in SoCal Toys 'R' Us

Nov 28, 6:59 PM EST
2 dead after shots fired in SoCal Toys 'R' Us

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) -- Two people were shot to death in a crowded toy store on Black Friday in a confrontation apparently involving rival groups, city officials said.

Palm Desert Councilman Jim Ferguson said police told him two men with handguns shot and killed each other. Ferguson said he asked police whether the incident was a dispute over a toy or whether it was gang-related. He said police told him they were not going to release further details until the victims' relatives were notified.

"I think the obvious question everyone has is who takes loaded weapons into a Toys "R" Us?" he said. "I doubt it was the casual holiday shopper."

City spokeswoman Sheila Gilligan said police told her the shooting broke out between "two groups of individuals that have a dispute with each other."

The Palm Desert Police Department received calls of shots fired around 11:35 a.m., Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said. He said officers were still investigating what prompted the gunshots.

Toys "R" Us issued a statement expressing outrage over the violence.

"We are working closely with local law enforcement officials to determine the specific details of what occurred," the statement said. "Our understanding is that this act seems to have been the result of a personal dispute between the individuals involved. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to associate the events of today with Black Friday."

Immediately after the shooting, about 20 people rushed into the World Gym across the street from Toys "R" Us, the gym's assistant manager Glenn Splain told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"They were crying, tearing and shaking," Splain said, adding that one woman came in cradling a baby.

"Some people got into a fight," said Splain, who spoke with some of the customers. "One of the guys here thought it was over a toy, but it got louder and louder and then there were gunshots."

Sarah Pacia of Cathedral City told The Desert Sun newspaper she was in the store with her two boys, ages 4 and 6, looking at coloring books when she heard a commotion in the next aisle. She thought it was people rushing to get a sale item. Then she heard three or four shots.

She said she froze, and store employees calmly escorted her out of the store.

"This is Toys "R" Us. There are kids shopping in there," Pacia said. Her son Jayden, 4, was clinging to her leg. He told her he didn't want to die, she said.

Palm Desert is a resort town about 120 miles east of Los Angeles.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/ ... SECTION=US

Two male Hispanics. Who on earth would carry a gun into Toys R Us other than some gang member!

Oh my lord no... not in a childrens store

Lay you ten to one odds they are MS-13 gang members. More wonderful third world values.......We are witnessing the fall of western civilization as it lapses into lawlessness, violence and savagery.

That's part of the global communist conspiracy for global domination.

Why am I not surprised that this happened in California?

Happy to hear that no children or innocent adult bystanders were hurt.

Two Men Shot Dead Inside Toys 'R' Us
By News Channel 3

The two people shot and killed inside a crowded Toys "R" Us store in Palm Desert on Black Friday were identified as two Hispanic men, Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.

"We got a call of shots fired," sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said. "We went in the store and we have two dead individuals."

There was no immediate word of any relationship between the victims or what caused the shooting to erupt. Deputies say they were not looking for any suspects. No one else was injured in the incident.

Two handguns were recovered near the bodies early Friday evening as Central Homicide investigators combed the store after the shooting.

The names of the victims have not yet been released.

The incident happened just before 11:30 a.m. at the store located at 72314 Highway 111 near Fred Waring Drive.

An eyewitness said she saw two men shoot each other as shoppers and their children jammed the store seeking "Black Friday" bargains.

The Desert Hot Springs woman, who gave her name only as Joan, said she was about 6 feet away from the shooting when it occurred.

"The blonde lady came over and started pummeling the other, Hispanic lady," Joan told City News Service.

"That's when the guy took out the weapon," she said.

According to the witness, the man accompanying the blonde was the first to pull a gun, and then the man with the other woman pulled out a gun as well.

Joan said she quickly ran, then ducked down to avoid getting hurt.

"It wasn't my time to die," Joan said.

Several Palm Desert city officials were told by police on what exactly happened.

According to Palm Desert city councilman Jim Ferguson, two men with handguns shot and killed each other.

Ferguson says he asked police whether the incident was a dispute over a toy or whether it was gang-related. He says police told him they are not going to release further details until the victims' relatives are notified.

City spokeswoman Sheila Gilligan says police told her the shooting broke out in the Toys 'R' Us between two groups of individuals who have a dispute with each other.

Several people were detained following the shooting. News Channel 3 cameras captured at least two people outside the store being detained including a woman who was heard screaming and banging on a Sheriff's cruiser.

Sgt. Gutierrez said the women detained were people with information on the shooting and were not officially arrested or charged with anything.

Deputies told News Channel 3 that some shoppers inside were evacuated while others were kept in the store shortly after the shooting as deputies swept the store for suspects.

Toys"R" Us issued a statement expressing its outrage "by the act of violence" and "the fact that anyone would compromise the safety and security of our customers and employees."

"We are working closely with local law enforcement officials to determine the specific details of what occurred," the statement said. "Our understanding is that this act seems to have been the result of a personal dispute between the individuals involved. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to associate the events of today with Black Friday."

Daniel Watson's wife and mother-in-law were inside the store at the time of the shooting. Watson told News Channel 3 that he was on the phone with her wife as shooting rang out. Watson's wife called back to tell her husband that she was safe and her mother escaped the store.

Some Toys "R" Us shoppers who fled the store sought refuge in a gym across the street.

"All of a sudden a dozen to 15 people came in distressed," Jeff Vallaire, who manages the World Gym on Town Center Way in Palm Desert, told City News Service. "One of them had an infant who was crying.

"They said there was a shooting, they heard five or six shots and they fled out the back of the store," Vallaire said.

Vallaire said several law enforcement officers came into the gym and spent roughly an hour interviewing shoppers who had been in the Toys "R" Us store at the time of the shooting.

The area remained crowded with shoppers and a parking lot across the street, which was sealed off in connection with the shooting investigation remained full, Vallaire said.

Riverside County Sheriff's Department as well as officers from the Cathedral City and Indio police departments are on scene.

The shooting comes on the morning of Black Friday, one of the year's busiest shopping days.

City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S= ... v=9qrxHJ44

The two people shot and killed inside a crowded Toys "R" Us store in Palm Desert on Black Friday were identified as two Hispanic men,

I wonder what the idiots who embrace multiculturalism think about this aspect of it?

Originally Posted by wilma1

Two male Hispanics. Who on earth would carry a gun into Toys R Us other than some gang member!

I would.....this is exzactly the reason why i would.This stuff seem's to be happening all over no matter where you live.

City spokeswoman Sheila Gilligan says police told her the shooting broke out in the Toys 'R' Us between two groups of individuals who have a dispute with each other.

So that's what they are calling gang members these days??