The Arizona shopping mall shooter aimed to “harm” 10 people because he “felt disrespected,” police said Thursday.
Admitted gunman Armando Junior Hernandez, 20, who even posted a video on Snapchat before walking into the Westgate Entertainment District mall and opening fire with an assault rifle, reportedly made the admissions after surrendering to police.
“Hernandez admitted that he was the shooter in this case,” Glendale Police Sgt. Randy Stewart said during a briefing Thursday, which was aired on Fox News in Phoenix.
“He said that he went to Westgate to target victims,” Stewart said. “He wanted to gain some respect. He felt that he had been bullied in his life.”
Hernandez, a construction worker from Peoria, initially scoped out the mall around 7:30 p.m. before returning to his car for what Stewart described as a “black assault rifle,” and three loaded magazines.
“Hello, my name is Armando Junior Hernandez and I’m gonna be the shooter of Westgate 2020,” the shooter says on the Snapchat video. “Let’s get this done.”
Police said he wounded three people, including a 19-year-old man who remains listed in critical condition at a local hospital.
The two other victims are a 16-year-old girl who was rushed to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and a 30-year-old woman who was treated at the scene.
“I don’t know exactly why he stopped firing,” Stewart said. “He did mention to the investigators that he gave up when he saw the officers responding.”
Hernandez, who made his first court appearance on Thursday, is facing 16 charges, including multiple counts of aggravated assault, firearm charges and an additional count for damaging a public utility — police said one of his shots struck a transformer and caused a local power outage.
Wearing a blue prison uniform and with his hands cuffed in front, Hernandez appeared calm, occasionally speaking with his public defender. He was ordered held on $1 million bail.
Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers on Thursday called the attack “a senseless act of violence.”
“Arizona will not give in to fear in times like this,” Weiers said at the briefing. “That’s something I want everybody to understand. We’re not going to give in to fear like this. Instead, we’re going to stand together. We’re going to emerge stronger and we’re going to be unified.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost...armando-hernandez-felt-disrespected-cops/amp/
Admitted gunman Armando Junior Hernandez, 20, who even posted a video on Snapchat before walking into the Westgate Entertainment District mall and opening fire with an assault rifle, reportedly made the admissions after surrendering to police.
“Hernandez admitted that he was the shooter in this case,” Glendale Police Sgt. Randy Stewart said during a briefing Thursday, which was aired on Fox News in Phoenix.
“He said that he went to Westgate to target victims,” Stewart said. “He wanted to gain some respect. He felt that he had been bullied in his life.”
Hernandez, a construction worker from Peoria, initially scoped out the mall around 7:30 p.m. before returning to his car for what Stewart described as a “black assault rifle,” and three loaded magazines.
“Hello, my name is Armando Junior Hernandez and I’m gonna be the shooter of Westgate 2020,” the shooter says on the Snapchat video. “Let’s get this done.”
Police said he wounded three people, including a 19-year-old man who remains listed in critical condition at a local hospital.
The two other victims are a 16-year-old girl who was rushed to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and a 30-year-old woman who was treated at the scene.
“I don’t know exactly why he stopped firing,” Stewart said. “He did mention to the investigators that he gave up when he saw the officers responding.”
Hernandez, who made his first court appearance on Thursday, is facing 16 charges, including multiple counts of aggravated assault, firearm charges and an additional count for damaging a public utility — police said one of his shots struck a transformer and caused a local power outage.
Wearing a blue prison uniform and with his hands cuffed in front, Hernandez appeared calm, occasionally speaking with his public defender. He was ordered held on $1 million bail.
Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers on Thursday called the attack “a senseless act of violence.”
“Arizona will not give in to fear in times like this,” Weiers said at the briefing. “That’s something I want everybody to understand. We’re not going to give in to fear like this. Instead, we’re going to stand together. We’re going to emerge stronger and we’re going to be unified.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost...armando-hernandez-felt-disrespected-cops/amp/
