Boise, Idaho, mall shooter dies in hospital; 2 victims he fatally shot are identified

© Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/TNS Emergency crews take care of people who were inside Boise Towne Square when a man started shooting a handgun, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021 in Boise, Idaho..

BOISE, Idaho — The suspect in a Monday afternoon shooting at the Boise Towne Square mall that left two people dead has died at a hospital and was identified Tuesday as Jacob Bergquist, according to the Boise Police Department.

According to police, Bergquist fired 18 rounds inside the mall before exiting, where an exchange of gunfire ensued with police on North Milwaukee Street. Four people were injured, including a police officer.

The two deceased victims were identified by the Ada County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday as Roberto Padilla Arguelles, 49, of Rupert, and Joseph Acker, 26, of Caldwell. Family members earlier in the day confirmed the death of Acker, a military veteran who identified as a transgender woman. Acker’s social media profile asks that people “(please) call me Jo.”

Bergquist, 27, was a Boise resident.

Two people who were injured during the shooting inside the mall Monday were identified as a 52-year-old woman and a 23-year-old woman. Both have non-life-threatening injuries, according to a Tuesday news release.

A third injured victim, a 68-year-old woman, was shot inside her vehicle on Milwaukee Street but also has non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

In the Tuesday release, police said that a Boise officer who responded to the shooting was shot at through the window of his patrol car.

“At this time, evidence indicates the hat he was wearing was struck by gunfire and shards of glass from the window struck the officer,” the release said. The officer was released from the hospital after treatment on Monday evening.

At around 1:50 p.m. Mountain time on Monday, Ada County dispatchers began receiving reports of a white adult male dressed in black who was “in possession of guns” and firing shots inside the mall, the release said.

“Evidence indicates the suspect was contacted by a security officer on the first floor of the building near a department store on the west side of the building,” the release said. “The suspect shot the security officer, who died at the scene.”

Police said the suspect fired more shots, hitting a second person who died at the scene. Two women were injured after the suspect fired “rounds into the floor,” the release added.

A man injured by a fall sustained while evacuating the mall was driven to a hospital in a private vehicle and treated.

Police officers arrived at the mall three minutes after the initial reports of gunshots, at around 1:53 p.m., according to the release. The officers saw a suspect who matched the reported description “running from the area” and confronted him “behind a business on the 500 block of N. Milwaukee.”

At least one police officer exchanged fire with the suspect at around 1:54 p.m. Police said the suspect was facing the street, away from the mall. The 68-year-old woman shot inside her vehicle was on North Milwaukee Street.

After a preliminary investigation, police said the suspect had multiple guns and ammunition while at the mall. Police found 18 used shell casings inside the building. Police searched a residence on Fry Street in Boise on Tuesday as part of the investigation.

According to police, a “multistate effort” is ongoing to gather facts about the suspect, who acted alone, officials said.

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