Garden State Plaza Mall Reopens After Monday Shooting

New Jersey's largest shopping mall will reopen Wednesday, about 36 hours after it was closed when a man fired multiple shots inside the mall and then killed himself.

The Garden State Plaza in Paramus was closed after the shooting Monday evening, and remained shuttered Tuesday.

Retailers and their employees will be allowed in the mall at 6 a.m. Wednesday, but customers won't be able to get in until 10 a.m.

Adrian Champion, an employee at Forever 21, said he wasn't scared to go to work in light of the shooting.

"These are the times we’re living in, we just have to be a little more alert, a little more sound, but we can’t just be too afraid," he said. "So for me to say, 'Am I fearful of going to work?' No. 'Am I going to be a little more cautious?' Yes."

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli says 20-year-old Richard Shoop of Teaneck was found dead early Tuesday in a back area of the mall. 

He said Shoop killed himself with the same weapon he used at the mall and that a suicide note was found at his home about 4 miles away. 

Shoop's brother, who owned the modified rifle he used, said the shooting was a surprise and called the suicide "an act of self-indulgence." Neighbors and friends have described Shoop as likeable and sweet.

No other injuries were reported.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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