FLORISSANT, Mo. — A man shot and killed a woman in a shopping mall outside St. Louis on Wednesday and then killed himself, police said. The pair were cousins, according to a man who said he was a relative.
No one else was injured but the Jamestown Mall was evacuated.
Marcus Gwynn said he heard four shots as he was walking into the mall to begin his shift at a Radio Shack store.
"I seen a lady on the ground face down, then he sits on the ground and shot himself in the head," said Gwynn, 21. He described both the man and the woman as in their mid-40s.
Deborah and Michael Mingo said they were shopping at Sears when they heard several shots. She said she asked a clerk about the noise and was told it was likely construction, but a short time later people in the store were telling them to get out.
The motive for the shooting just outside the Sears store had not been determined, said St. Louis County police spokeswoman Tracy Panus. Police tape was wrapped around the entrance to the food court near the scene of the shooting.
St. Louis County police Detective Mike Williams inspected a gray Ford Focus — the female victim's car — on the lot outside the Sears. Two of the tires were deflated, leading Williams to believe the shooter did not want the woman to flee.
Hours after the shooting, a man who identified himself as Steve Johnson pulled up in a tow truck, got out and collapsed to the pavement, shaking his head.
Johnson said he and both victims were all first cousins to each other. He was unaware of any possible motive for the shootings. Police were talking to Johnson but did not immediately confirm the relationships or release the names of the dead.
Calls seeking comment from officials of Sears and several other stores in that area of the mall were either unanswered or not returned.
A woman who answered phones in the mall office declined to comment.
Jamestown Mall is in far northern St. Louis County. It has about 60 stores and restaurants.