In Omaha, Nebraska, a gunman opened fire in a mall on Wednesday afternoon, killing nine people, including himself, and wounding five others.

The shooter, who was carrying a rifle, was identified by authorities as being Robert A. Hawkins, 19, of nearby Bellevue, Nebraska, who recently had broken up with his girlfriend and lost his job at McDonalds. He was described by his friends as being a depressed person.

He was kicked out of his parent’s house and had a criminal record, the Associated Press reports.

The shooting began around 1.40 p.m. when the Westroads Mall was filled with Christmas shoppers. Customers took cover inside dressing rooms or behind clothing racks and others ran as the gunman started to shoot from the third-floor balcony of the mall.

According to Police Chief Thomas Warren, the shooting appeared to be at random at the victims included five women and three males. Warren didn’t release the name of the victims, but promised more details in the conference programmed on Thursday morning.

Hawkins was kicked out a year ago by his parents and now was living with a friend’s family.

Debora Maruca-Kovac, whose house he was staying in, said that on Tuesday night Hawkins along with her sons showed her an SKS semiautomatic Russian military rifle, similar with the one used in the shooting. She thought it belonged to a member of Hawkins' family and didn’t think it could work because it appeared to be too old.

She spoke of him when he first came into their house: "When he first came in the house, he was introverted, a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted.”

She said that he phoned her on Wednesday at about 1p.m. and told her that he left a note and that “It’s too late”, and afterwards hang up.

According to the records in Sarpy and Washington counties, Hawkins had a felony drug conviction and was arrested just 11 days before the shooting for illegal drinking. He was supposed to appear in court in two weeks.

In his note Hawkins said that he was "sorry for everything" and that he won’t be a burden for his family anymore. The most puzzling thing is that he wrote “Now I’ll be famous.”

Hawkins was wearing a camouflage vest, a black backpack and had a military-style haircut when he entered the mall.

He opened fire at the third floor, in a Von Maur store, part of a Midwestern chain.

His victims were spread across the two top floors of the Mall.

Police arrived six minutes later after the first call to 911 was made, and avery available officer was sent to the site. By the time they arrived, the ordeal was over and the gunman was dead, Daily News informs.

This is believed to be the deadliest single shooting in county’s history.