Gunman enters Utah mall, starts firing

A gunman entered a shopping mall and began randomly shooting Monday night, hitting several people before he was killed, police said.

"There have been multiple victims and there are some fatalities. ... I can't confirm the number," police Detective Robin Snyder said outside the Trolley Square Mall.

"The suspect has been killed," she said.

At least two people _ males ages 16 and 50 _ were in critical condition, a University Hospital spokesperson said.

Authorities had few immediate details about how the crime unfolded but said the gunman entered the mall about 6:45 p.m. MST, Snyder said.

Antique store owner Barrett Dodds, 29, said he saw a man in a trench coat exchanging gunfire with a police officer outside a card store. The gunman was backed into a children's clothing store, he said.

"I saw the cops go in the store. I saw the shooter go down," said Dodds, who watched from the second floor.

Barb McKeown, 60, of Washington, D.C., was in another antique shop when two frantic women ran in and reported gunshots.

"Then we heard shot after shot after shot _ loud, loud, loud," said McKeown, saying she heard about 20. She and three other people hid under a staircase until it was safe to leave.

Many employees and shoppers _ "a lot of scared people" _ were still inside the mall about two hours after the shootings, Snyder said.

"This is a huge area to cover," she said.

Streets were blocked outside the mall as police swarmed the scene. Dozens of people lingered on the sidewalk, many wrapped in blankets as they talked about what they had seen inside.

The two-story mall, southeast of downtown, is a refurbished trolley barn, with a series of winding hallways and about 80 stores.