Killings at Trolley Square started outside mall

According to a Salt Lake police inquiry released last month, it was at 6:42 p.m. that 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic stepped out of his car at Trolley Square's upper parking terrace and opened fire. Police said he was armed with a .38 Special, a pistol-grip shotgun, a bandolier of shells around his waist and a backpack full of ammo.

Talovic first killed Jeffrey Walker, 52, and wounded his son, AJ. Outside the mall, he shot Shawn Munns twice. Talovic blew the glass out of the doors, moved inside the mall and fired up the stairs — missing a security guard.

Walking toward the Bath & Body Works store, Talovic shot Vanessa Quinn, 29, twice.

As the rampage continued, Salt Lake police and fire dispatchers were flooded with 911 calls from shoppers who hid in closets, back rooms and even in a freezer to get away from the killer.

Talovic walked into the Cabin Fever card and novelty shop and shot Carolyn Tuft, who was crouching down near a display table. Stacy Hanson tried to reason with him.

"Everyone just wants to go home," he said to Talovic.

"Talovic told him to shut up and shot him in the lower abdomen and arm with the shotgun," police wrote in the report.

Talovic then killed Tuft's daughter, Kirsten Hinckley, 15; and then Brad Frantz, 24; and Teresa Ellis, 29. After walking out of the store, he walked back in and shot Tuft as she crawled toward her daughter. He also shot Kirsten and Teresa again.

It was then that he encountered off-duty Ogden police officer Ken Hammond, who was on an early Valentine's Day date with his wife. Hammond told his then-pregnant wife to run back into Rodizio Grill and call 911. He then shouted to Talovic, who fired at him. Police say Hammond distracted the killer from shooting any more people.

As Talovic tried to move closer into the mall, shop owner Barrett Dodds shouted "Shoot at me! Shoot at me!" to distract the killer, who then moved toward Pottery Barn Kids.

By that time, police had arrived. Inside the Pottery Barn Kids store, Hammond and Salt Lake police officers got into a shootout with Talovic.

"(Expletive) you," Talovic said before he was shot to death.

Police said the motive for Talovic's killing spree is still a mystery.

In the months following the shooting, four men were indicted on charges connected to supplying Talovic with the weapons. All four struck plea agreements with federal prosecutors.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com