Sandy MaloneBoise, ID – The gunman who fatally shot two people and wounded four others at a Boise mall on Monday died on Tuesday of the wounds he suffered in a gunfight with police after his rampage.
Boise police have identified 27-year-old Jacob Bergquist as the shooter who fired 18 rounds inside the Boise Town Square mall, the Idaho Statesman reported.
The Boise Police Department said in a press release on Oct. 26 that the incident began at about 1:50 p.m. on Oct. 25 when Ada County 911 dispatchers started receiving reports of gunfire inside the shopping center.
Callers told 911 the gunman was a white male, dressed in black.
Boise police said in the release that a mall security officer – later identified as 26-year-old U.S. Army veteran Jo Acker – engaged the gunman on the first floor of the building near a department store.
Bergquist shot and killed the security guard and then fired multiple rounds inside the mall, shooting the glass escalator and 49-year-old Roberto Padilla Arguelles, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Acker was pronounced dead at the scene and Arguelles died at the hospital, according to police.
Police said Bergquist continued his rampage through mall and fired rounds into the floor that ricocheted and wounded two women.
Another man fell while fleeing the mall and was injured.
Police said he was taken to the hospital in a private vehicle and treated.
The Ada County Coroner has identified those deceased following Monday's #shooting at the #BoiseTowneSquareMall.
Victim: Jo Acker, 26
Victim: Roberto Padilla Arguelles, 49
Suspect: Jacob Bergquist, 27 pic.twitter.com/K1hzqUBpR9
— Brittany Cooper (@BCooperKMVT) October 26, 2021
Boise police officers arrived on the scene at 1:53 p.m., just three minutes after the first 911 call, according to the press release.
Officers spotted the suspect running from the mall and confronted him behind a business in the 500-block of North Milwaukee.
There was a gunfight between the suspect and at least one officer, according to police.
Boise police said a 68-year-old woman in her vehicle nearby was wounded during the exchange.
The preliminary investigation showed Bergquist was in possession of multiple firearms and had lots of ammunition with him at the mall, according to the press release.
Police said investigators recovered 18 spent shell casings from inside the shopping center.
Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee said that Bergquist was known to police because of prior trespassing and disorderly conduct incidents, The Sun reported.
Officials said that all the evidence pointed to only one suspect involved in the incident but said the investigation is ongoing, CBS News reported.
The last two days have been incredibly challenging for Boise, and I’m holding the families of Jo Acker and Robert Padilla Arguelles in my heart, and I know our community is too. pic.twitter.com/JiQgIfb6Ji
— Mayor McLean (@boisemayor) October 27, 2021
“Never should one have to, or does one expect when they’re saying goodbye to a loved one who is headed to work, who is headed out to shop, that they’ll get a call like they did today,” Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said. “Countless people found themselves in a situation they never would have — or should have — expected.”
Holly Matkin
