Suspect Eduardo Sencion of Carson City, Nev., opened fire Tuesday in an IHOP located in Carson City, Nev. The shooting was targeted at five uniformed National Guard members, police. The shooting left two of the Guard members dead, along with another person who was caught in the line of fire.
Sencion, a 32-year-old male, also shot himself. He was declared dead at the hospital. Witnesses reporting to MSNBC state that he acted alone, arriving at the IHOP in a blue minivan, shooting a man on a motorcycle, then entering the restaurant and opening fire on the members of the National Guard. After the gunman completed his task within the IHOP, he reportedly went back outside and began shooting at an H&R Block office, a barbecue restaurant, and a casino located across the street from the strip mall before turning the gun on himself.
Eight other people were wounded in the attack. Three of the Guard members are at the hospital recovering while two, a man and a woman, are now dead. The IHOP is located four miles from the National Guard base, presumably where the five guardsmen are from.
MSBNC reports the weapon used in the shooting was an AK-47 assault rifle. Witnesses claim to have heard two rounds of shooting: one seeming as though it came from a semi-automatic weapon, and a second consisting of 30-40 shots from an automatic weapon.
April Conway, a spokesperson with the National Guard, stated there is no connection between the shooter and the National Guard. Sencion’s family, however, had previously expressed concerns about his mental health in investigative interviews, but the extent of their concerns was not expounded upon.
Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong and other officers responded to the shooting within minutes of the first 911 call. When they arrived at the scene, the suspect had already shot himself and was lying in the parking lot.
Directly following the shooting, the Supreme Court building and the Capitol building were shut down for around 40 minutes. Extra security measures were also put into place at many military and state buildings surrounding the area after the event. Furlong now says that the shooting was an isolated incident, occurring with just one man in one parking lot.
There have been other comments made, from Fran Hunter, an employee at a pet shop north of the shooting; “I don’t know what’s happening to my city, this happens in L.A. or Las Vegas but not here.” Comments were also made by presidential candidate Mitt Romney, scheduled to speak in Las Vegas Tuesday. According to USA Today, Romney said, “I am deeply saddened by the senseless violence today in Carson City,” Romney said in a statement. “My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.”