OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Monday marks 15 years since eight people lost their lives in a shooting at Von Maur in Westroads Mall. A 19-year-old gunman randomly fired at shoppers and employees on the third floor of the store before turning the gun on himself.
Jeff and Carrie Schaffart were at the store that day. In December of 2007, they were about to celebrate their second Christmas with their daughter — out shopping to buy a holiday dress for her. They were also about a month away from traveling to China to meet their son for the first time. Suddenly, they heard a loud noise.
"I remember seeing the first two victims. I did not see them shot because I was walking away from them. I remember hearing the first couple of shots and realizing I had been hit with something following that," Jeff said.
Jeff got shot in the arm and finger.
"It crosses my mind frequently that I am lucky to be alive," Jeff said.
"Jeff still has those scars. They're on his arms, they're on his hands. I see them every now and again, kind of a reminder how close it was. It really was a matter of millimeters," Carrie said.
Micky Oldham was working at Von Maur in customer service when she got shot in the back and stomach.
"The doctor came in and told us she'd been shot twice. I just lost it. I broke down. And then he followed with, however, none of her vital organs were hit," Micky's daughter Kim Hoock said.
Hoock says her mom never fully recovered from her injuries.
"She was on oxygen for the remaining time of her life," Kim said. "She didn't have the stamina that she did before. She was always in pain."
All scarred, all connected and all agree this tragedy has given them a different perspective and lens on life.
"I think there's this perception that something bad happens and then you're supposed to heal and get over it when there really isn't an end date to healing," Carrie said.
"It's a sad day, but also a happy day because Mom did survive while so many others didn't," Kim said.
Micky died in 2016. There's also a book about her life before and after the shooting called 35 Minutes and Counting.
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