Police ID Oregon Mall Shooter

But don't know motive of Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 12, 2012 12:49 PM CST
Police ID Oregon Mall Shooter
Leslie King, right and Tenille Beseda place flowers Wednesday at the entrance of Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore.   (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

Police have identified the gunman in yesterday's mall shooting near Portland, Oregon, as 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts, reports the AP. They say they still don't know what prompted Roberts to don a mask and open fire with a semiautomatic rifle but say he acted alone. He had no "significant" criminal history. Authorities identified the two people he killed as Cindy Yuille, 54, and Steven Forsyth, 45. Another woman, Kristina Shevchenko, is in serious condition. Police say Roberts killed himself.

He apparently fired at random inside the mall, hoping to kill as many people as possible, authorities say. The toll could have been higher, but his rifle—which was stolen earlier in the day—jammed at one point. "This could have been much, much worse," said the Clackamas County sheriff. One witness says Roberts declared, "I am the shooter" before the rampage began. (More Portland, Oregon stories.)

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