Gunman, 2 others killed in Kansas City shooting

Associated PressApr. 30, 2007 12:00 AM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A gunman shot a police officer then opened fire in a parking lot and a mall Sunday, authorities said. By the time the violence was over, the shooter and two other people were dead.
The gunman was shot to death inside Ward Parkway Center in south Kansas City, police spokesman Tony Sanders said.
He was apparently killed by police gunfire, officials said.
Police said the violence began early Sunday afternoon, when they went to a home to check on a woman relatives hadn't seen for days. The victim was found dead and her car missing, Sanders said.
The car was spotted later in the day by an officer, who pulled the driver over and was shot in the arm, police said. The officer, whose wound was not life-threatening, returned fire.
The car took off and was spotted later at the shopping center. The man fatally shot two people in the parking lot, then went inside the mall and fired more shots, wounding at least two others, Sanders said.
Target employee Caffie Bradshaw, 19, said she was in a break room with two other people when they heard shots. She said co-workers saw a White man with a rifle who was "spraying bullets."

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At this early juncture, it would appear that the criminal was actually stopped by police response. Nice. Although most active shooter scenarios are NOT stopped by the intervention of police officers, it looks like the officers on scene responded quickly. News footage that I saw yesterday showed officers sprinting into the mall. A decidedly different image than other incidents (like Virginia Tech) where officers were taking up defensive positions behind trees and patrol cars.