TEANECK, N.J. — Relatives and friends of Richard Shoop have been finding it hard to believe today that the young man they described as pleasant and well-liked would bring a gun into a New Jersey shopping mall, firing several shots into the ceiling and elsewhere before eventually taking his own life.
Police don't think the 20-year-old intended to shoot anyone when he began firing last night at the mall about 15 miles northwest of New York City. He didn't hit anybody, but terrified shoppers and employees were trapped in the mall for hours.
