PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When a man donning a mask shot and killed another man at the Vancouver Mall last month, it transformed a family-friendly Halloween event into the stuff of nightmares for shoppers. Now, newly-surfaced 911 calls from that night are painting the picture of a chaotic and frantic scene.
"Gunshots at Vancouver Mall," the first panicked caller says at 7:27 p.m., one of over six dozen 911 calls that would flood dispatchers within thirty minutes.
"How many gunshots? A succession of a few. Like 7, 8," the caller says.
Multiple callers say the shots originated from the food court, describing a terrifying scene that sends families into hiding in the mall.
People running away from the danger would ironically seek sanctuary inside the Twisted Escape Room, where a 16-year-old employee unlocked her doors to let in a distressed family, then locked the doors once again, shortly after shots were fired. The entire incident was captured on surveillance video.
Other workers were forced to abandon their posts when the bullets started flying.
"Everyone in the Jimmy John's evacuated with everyone else in the mall," one worker says in a 911 call. "Everything is open in there, the doors are unlocked and everything, me and my employees are here in my car in the parking lot."
One woman says her family members were hurt in the shooting.
"We are in the cafeteria on the second floor of Vancouver Mall. There is a person lying dead on the floor. There are multiple people with gunshot wounds. We need medicine, police immediately," she says. "My ex-husband was wounded, he's holding our children. My boyfriend's got a shot in his chest. My ex-husband has a shot in the foot and there are casings on the ground."
Vancouver police called the shooting, in which one person was killed and two other men were injured, a targeted attack.
One caller's description of the suspect sounds like a horror film.
"He was wearing a clown mask, yes, with gnarled teeth, a white mask with red on it," the caller says. "He pulled a revolver and shot the guy 7, 6 times."
Travis Ward, 32, was arrested days after the Halloween night shooting at his apartment. He's accused of shooting James Perez point-blank, killing him.
Police said Ward was with his family before separating, putting on a Halloween mask and following Perez to the food court.
Ward is now facing charges of first-degree murder and assault. He will be back in court on Dec. 12.
