Haynes: Damian Lillard's Mother Was In Parking Lot During Clackamas Town Center Shooting

Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports that the mother of Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was in the parking lot of Clackamas Town Center when Jacob Tyler Roberts began shooting at shoppers with a rifle, killing two, before committing suicide on Tuesday.

Gina Johnson, the mother of Portland Trail Blazers guard, Damian Lillard, was in the parking lot at the time of the shooting and was informed by people fleeing the scene to what was happening. At this time, Lillard was at the team's practice facility in Tualatin, waiting for his mom to pick him up, not knowing what danger she was near.

"I was here and my mom was actually in the parking lot, she was going to the mall," Lillard explained to CSNNW.com. "I needed a ride from here (practice facility) because I didn't drive yesterday.

"She saw all the people running and all the stuff like that and then she came and picked me up. It was crazy for somebody to go to the mall around Christmas time and do something like that."

John Canzano of The Oregonian reported that he was also in the parking lot at the time.

I stopped a guy and he said: "Somebody has an automatic weapon and is shooting." People were saying the shooting was near the food court by the escalator. They said they thought as many as 60 rounds were fired; others thought as few as 15. Then someone said the gun appeared to jam, but it's not clear.

All kinds of cops came pouring into the parking lot, setting up and hiding behind cars with guns drawn. They were eyeballing every car.

I saw law enforcement at their best. Organized, efficient, patient, it was clear they'd trained and knew what to do.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter