Alderwood mall death considered a suicide

Published 9:12 pm Sunday, January 18, 2009

LYNNWOOD — A 71-year-old Edmonds woman shot herself to death Sunday afternoon in a parking garage at Alderwood mall.

The mall appeared to be crowded at the time of the incident, about 1:45 p.m.

A passer-by saw the woman on the ground and tried to administer CPR, then noticed the gunshot wound and called police, Lynnwood Police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said.

The death was recorded by a mall surveillance camera. The woman’s next of kin have been notified and Lynnwood Police will continue to investigate, Sessions said.

The mall remained open following the shooting, though the J.C. Penney store next to where the woman died was locked down for a while so police and emergency crews could do their jobs.

Pat Lord had gone into the department store to shop for socks for her husband when mall security began blocking doors without giving shoppers any explanation, she said.

“We didn’t know if it was terrorism, gang violence, or if there was a lone shooter,” said Lord, 52. “I turned around to leave out through the main mall entrance and it was closed. That’s when I got scared.”

There have been recent gang shootings at malls in Seattle and Tukwila, and an attack on shoppers by a lone gunman at the mall in Tacoma.

So Sunday, Lord got on her phone and spoke to her husband who was waiting in a car outside. He told her Lynnwood Police vehicles were pouring into the mall parking lot.

Her gut clenched, she said, because mall security guards were unresponsive to her questions. She worried if there was a hostage situation and how long people would be held in the store.

Finally, she said, someone on an intercom announced “the doors will open in 20 minutes, please continue shopping.”

“Ridiculous” Lord said.

Even after the doors were unlocked, mall security still did not tell her why she was detained. Alderwood mall declined to comment for this story.

Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.