Man, Son Are Killed in Shooting at Mall

A 16-year-old boy and his father were shot to death in the parking lot of a San Bernardino bargain mall Monday, only hours after the father had been released from jail.

San Bernardino police investigators, armed with a videotape of the shooting and statements from numerous witnesses, said that a 17-year-old male gang member was the suspected shooter and that they have launched a regionwide search for the youth.

“We know who we’re looking for,” said Sgt. Brian Boom, head of the department’s homicide unit.

The noontime shooting apparently occurred after the gang member and the victims had a verbal exchange inside the Waterman Discount Mall, said police Lt. Frank Mankin. The boy, who was not identified, and his 34-year-old father, who police identified as Odrum Brooks, were shopping with another man inside the mall when they encountered four males, and an “altercation” ensued.

The boy, his father and their friend then left the mall after buying clothes and got into a Chevrolet Impala. The 16-year-old boy was in the driver’s seat; his father sat in the front passenger seat.

“As the guys in the car were trying to leave, they were ambushed by the shooter,” said a mall security guard, who turned over a security camera videotape of the shooting to police. “The shooter was about 8 feet away from them. I heard about 13 shots, but you lose count when there’s that much firing around you.”

Police said at least one occupant in the victims’ car returned fire as stunned mall customers in the parking lot watched.

The father was declared dead at the scene. The boy was later declared dead at St. Bernardine’s Hospital. The third male was shot at least once in the leg and treated at a local hospital, police said.

The security guard, who asked that his name be withheld, said that he pulled out his gun after hearing the shots but that the shooter fled toward an apartment complex north of the mall.

The guard said he saw the shooter join three people. The guard also said that he reviewed the videotape of the incident and that it appeared the shooter was talking on a cell phone around the time of the slayings.

The deaths brought San Bernardino’s 2003 homicide total to 47, matching the 2002 total with 30 days still remaining.