Florida mall shooting sees one dead and two injured, police say

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Shooting at Melbourne Square Mall occurred about 9.30am Saturday
Joe Garcia Rodriguez, 57, walked in with three handguns, police said
He shot his wife, Ida Garcia, 33, but she has survived
Male co-worker was shot dead trying to stop Rodriguez
Rodriguez then turned the gun on himself
About 100 people were in the mall at the time

By Joel Christie For The Daily Mail and Associated Press Reporter

Published: 10:57 EST, 17 January 2015 | Updated: 17:07 EST, 17 January 2015

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A man who walked into a central Florida mall on Saturday morning armed with three handguns and several round of ammunition shot his wife and her co-worker before turning the gun on himself, police say.

However his wife has survived the shooting and is in a stable condition in hospital.

Police say Jose Garcia Rodriguez, 57, of Palm Bay, entered the Melbourne Square Mall about 9.30am and opened fire.

A male co-worker of Rodriguez's wife, Ida Gacia, 33, bravely jumped in and tried to stop him, but was shot dead in the struggle.

Rodriguez then killed himself.

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Shooter: Police say Police say Jose Garcia Rodriguez, 57 (right), entered the Melbourne Square Mall about 9.30am Saturday and opened fire, shooting wife Ida Garcia, 33 (left), and her male co-worker

Shooting: Police responded to reports of gunfire at 9.30am Saturday morning at the mall in Melbourne, Florida

Inspection: A bomb squad was called to the scene to investigate a car, which is believed to belong to the shooter, Jose Garcia Rodriguez

One person dead, two injured after shooting in Florida Mall

Killer: During a press conference Saturday, police identified the shooter as Jose Garcia Rodriguez and said he shot his wife, Ida Garcia, and a third male victim, who was not identified

Police arrived to find the three bodies and quickly announced on Twitter the shooter had been 'contained'.

Investigators recovered three handguns from the scene and had 'several pockets full of ammunition'.

While it is not clear what motivated Rodriguez or if he intended to shoot more people, police are confident his wife was the target.

The male victim has not been identified, pending notification of next of kin.

Ida Garcia was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds but police say she is recovering, police said at a press conference Saturday.

About 100 people were in the mall at the time.

The mall officially opens officially at 10 am but the shooting reportedly happened about 9.30 am in the food court area.

The doors open early for employees and for people to walk around before the shops open.

'We were putting our merchandise out in Kay Jewelers and all the sudden we heard these really loud bangs,' mall employee Cody Jones told WFTV.

'Like eight of them.

'It was definitely gunshots.

'People were running through the mall and stuff and trying to see what’s going on

'I saw two people shot when I walked outside the entrance.'

No other information about the victims have been released.

Workers inside the center said gunshots were fired in quick succession, according to NBC.

The bomb squad was called to inspect a car in the car park.

Closed: Melbourne quickly shut down the mall, but say it will be open for business on Sunday

Shooter: Police say Police say Jose Garcia Rodriguez, 57 (right), entered the Melbourne Square Mall about 9.30am Saturday and opened fire, shooting wife Ida Garcia, 33 (left), and her male co-worker

Store employees were instructed to exit the mall through their rear entrances.

Witnesses were terrified.

'You don't keep your cool,' witness Elizabeth Tickle told WFTV.

'You're just automatically reacting.

'Your feet are just going and your legs are running,'

After the bomb squad inspected Rodriguez's car, WFTV reported they went to Rodriguez's home in Palm Bay.

Investigation: Police also inspected the couple's Palm Bay home following the shooting

Family: The couple had been married for 16 years according to Facebook and believed to have two daughters

Scene: A major police presence can be seen at the Melbourne Square mall in Melbourne, Florida , Saturday

Elizabeth Trickle and Donna Evans told Florida Today they were 20 to 25 feet from Rodriguez when he opened fire.

'I was running one way and (Evans) was running another way and then she came back and she got me and we ran through the exit at Dillard's,' Trickle said.

'It was a frightening experience, something that you don't ever want anybody to experience.

'It was crazy. We had just gotten our food to sit down by Starbucks and Chik-fil-A, and you just hear the 'pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,' and you just drop everything and your body just makes you run,' Evans added.

'Very, very lucky. 'Cause If it would have been the other way, it would've been us because we were right in the line of it, so yes, God is on my shoulder whether people believe in it or not.'