Man Kills 4 In Las Vegas Supermarket -- Victims Are Albertson's Employees; Shotgun-Wielding Suspect Is Arrested

LAS VEGAS - A man dressed in camouflage and armed with a shotgun opened fire today in an Albertson's supermarket, killing four employees as workers and shoppers scattered in terror.

A 23-year-old man with a shotgun was taken into custody without incident outside the store. All of the dead were employees of the supermarket, Lt. Wayne Petersen said. A man was critically wounded, he said.

"We're unsure why he chose this place to go on a rampage," he said.

The suspect was identified as Zane Floyd. A neighbor, Cathy Downey, said Floyd got out of the Marines recently and moved into a guest house behind his parents' home not far from the store.

"That's all they talked about is when he would be coming home from leave. They did everything they could for him. He didn't want for anything," Downey said.

"I don't know how they can get through this, not with their pride and joy," she added.

Floyd served four years in the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and was honorably discharged in July 1998, base spokesman Lt. Jeff Landis said.

Lt. Rick Alba said police do not believe robbery was a motive in today's rampage, and they have not determined any connection between Floyd and the three men and one woman who died.

Police received word of the shooting around 5:15 a.m. The bodies were found at different places in the store, which is about two miles west of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, Alba said.

"We're just horrified by this. This is tragic, inexplicable, and we are sickened by it," said Michael Read, vice president of public affairs at Albertson's headquarters in Boise, Idaho.

The company, which has 995 stores in 25 states, sent counselors to help console employees.

After the man began firing, two employees, 20 and 34, hid for three hours in a produce cooler, where they were discovered by police.

"They were very upset from the whole incident. They were very cold. . . . We are trying to get them warm," said Kathi Rice, a spokeswoman for American Medical Response, an ambulance service.

The supermarket is at a shopping mall at one of Las Vegas' busiest intersections. Police cordoned off the area.

Across from the store's parking lot, Albertson's employees and family members gathered at a restaurant, surrounded by police and store officials. Some were crying as they embraced each other.

After leaving the Marines, Floyd briefly attended college, Downey said. More recently, he has worked as a bouncer at a sports bar, said Tony Marquez, a fellow bouncer.

Marquez said that over the weekend, he helped Floyd move out of an apartment he shared with a roommate and into his parents' guesthouse. Floyd had a girlfriend and was popular at the bar, his friend said.

"He's a regular 23-year-old guy who likes to party and hang out, just like me," Marquez said. "I don't understand what happened, I just don't understand it."