1 man, a gun, some kerosene and a backpack..

[MANT!]

The main shopping mall in my area is currently burning..

http://www.salon.com/wires/allwires/index.html

I'm not too broken up over it, however my co-worker's spouse works there along with hundreds of others..

the job losses may last for months..

Police descended on the mall shortly after 10:30 a.m. when a man claiming to have a gun entered the video game store GameStop.
"He started a fire, then barricaded himself in a back room, but there were no reports of hostages or injuries," said Megan MacPherson, spokeswoman for the city of Roseville.
The mall was evacuated immediately.
She said the man is believed to have acted alone. Police did not know a motive, she said.

Authorities had thought the mall's sprinkler system doused the blaze. Before the larger blaze erupted, police had detained a suspect and were checking a backpack they found to see if it contained explosives.

Police later said the fire began spreading as members of the bomb squad were examining the backpack, forcing them to flee the building.

"We weren't able to get in there because there was a potential bomb there," Sacramento Metro Fire spokesman Christian Pebbles said.

So this disturbed man with a gun, kerosene and a backpack
trys to burn down a Gamestop...and destroys a major secion of the mall...

There was a Catch 22 going on...the Bomb Squad couldn't clear the mall due to the fire, and the Fire Department couldn't fight the fire due to the potental bomb...


Laughable, except for the jobs and merchandise lost...


The area just appears to be getting back into form after the recession...

now this...

 

[Trekker4747]

1 man, a gun, some kerosene and a backpack..

Worst sexually themed viral video ever.

 

[sidious618]

Sucks, dude. It's horrible when something like that happens because it affects the whole area even if it's just on a subtle level.

 

[Spot's Meow]

This has been on the local news for hours today, it's really very sad. It seems that the young man at fault has been having "mental issues," as his mother stated, lately and had tried to check himself into a mental facility twice in the past year, but was turned away. Hours after being taken into custody he was seen being taken out of the police station on a stretcher, into an ambulance.

It's so weird because I was just standing in that GameStop not too long ago, and now it's smoldering debris. I definitely feel bad for all those jobs lost, and for the losses to the local economy, which will be tremendous since the mall will have to be closed during the holiday season.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Gamestop. I bet "violent videogames" somehow get the rap for this.

 

[1001001]

I saw much of this unfold on the news yesterday as well.

A sad situation for everyone involved.

The counties have cut their mental health budgets to the bone. With no help available, I fear other events like this are bound to happen.

 

[MANT!]

Gamestop. I bet "violent videogames" somehow get the rap for this.

I guess Level 6 on Starcraft was a bit too hard...

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIPGF-qpEhE[/yt]



http://www.kcra.com/slideshow/news/25466410/detail.html

His mental issues appear to be well known, the young man had a bright future ahead with scholarships and other such opportunities but his issues began to surface and all that went away.


The damage will take MANY months to repair.
http://www.kcra.com/slideshow/news/25466410/detail.html

http://www.kcra.com/r/25467048/detail.html

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Between this and "logical donkey -- two girls at once", I'm starting to fear Miscellaneous.

 

[KimMH]

Makes you realize that "May you live in interesting times" is a curse too . . .

 

[Spot's Meow]

They have posted a couple of photos of the inside of the mall that show some of the destruction, here. It's creepy looking, especially knowing I was just there recently, so weird seeing it burnt!

There were large portions of the mall that weren't damaged by the fire, but the smoke and water damage from the overhead sprinklers and fire hoses makes it an inhospitable place.

The "Caution: Wet" sign does look a little silly sitting in several inches of water...

 

[1001001]

There were large portions of the mall that weren't damaged by the fire, but the smoke and water damage from the overhead sprinklers and fire hoses makes it an inhospitable place.

Well, not from the overhead sprinklers, apparently...

Roseville city officials admitted Tuesday that the fire extinguishing sprinklers were turned off during the standoff that preceded last week's devastating fire.

City spokesperson Megan McPherson said the sprinklers were on before the standoff, but someone ordered them shut down while 24-year-old Alexander Piggee allegedly threatened employees at a video game store and set a fire.

The source of the order will not be released before the investigation is completed, McPherson said.

http://cbs13.com/crime/roseville.galleria.investigation.2.1982138.html

I'll be interested to hear what the rationale was for this...

 

[Spot's Meow]

I heard that, it's...interesting. I'm trying to refrain from judgment until we've got some more information on it. But it does seem like, in natural disasters, fires, terrorism plots, whatever the event, the systems that have been put into place to handle these things are working as they should, and then a human comes along who thinks he knows better or is in denial that the situation could get worse and so stops these systems from doing their thing. Are humans just that arrogant? It's like we plan to avoid disasters but then throw that planning out the window.

Well, there is some good news I suppose. Some stores on the other side of the mall are planning to re-open by this weekend, including Nordstrom, Crate and Barrel, and Pottery Barn. You know, all the useless stores I have no reason to go to.

 

[Holdfast]

1 man, a gun, some kerosene and a backpack...

The main shopping mall in my area is currently burning...

Isn't this the plot to Dead Rising...?

 

[1001001]

I heard that, it's...interesting. I'm trying to refrain from judgment until we've got some more information on it.

Me too. There must have been some security protocol involved. I can't imagine someone making that call on their own.

We'll see.