Dispatcher recounts response to shooting at Coral Ridge Mall

IOWA CITY - A Coralville police officer already at the Coral Ridge Mall when gunshots rang out Friday immediately radioed for help, and within three minutes 41 other people called 911, a Johnson County dispatcher said Tuesday in describing the frantic scene.

'When that call comes in or an officer is screaming on the radio about shots fired, your training kicks in, and you know you have to stay calm and keep them calm,” dispatcher Lori Snider said.

She received the call around 7:31 p.m. over police radio from an officer handling a separate incident at the mall when gunfire erupted near the food court.

Police said Alexander M. Kozak, 22 of North Liberty, left his job as a security guard for Coral Ridge, drove home to get a Glock handgun and returned to kill Andrea Farrington, 20 of Cedar Rapids, who worked at the Iowa Children's Museum at the mall. The woman, lauded by friends and co-workers for her creativity and positive attitude, was targeted by her assailant, authorities said, but investigators have not said why.

Snider remained in charge of dispatching first responders to the scene Friday night while other dispatchers handled the influx of calls. Additional calls were routed to dispatchers in Cedar Rapids, the standard protocol during a large incident that triggers dozens of emergency calls at once.

Snider said it was unlike anything she had experienced in 16 years on the job.

'Everybody just starts doing whatever they need to do ... It's amazing to watch them,” Snider said of the scene at the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communications Center.

Audio of the first 12 minutes of interaction between dispatchers and law enforcement hit the Internet that night.

Tom Jones, executive director of JECC, said he has received positive feedback from many officials who heard the recording.

'I think all the procedures were followed correctly, and that's how everything went so smooth,” Jones said.

Kozak was captured about an hour after the shooting as he drove on eastbound Interstate 80 near Davenport.

He was charged with first-degree murder and is held in jail on a $10 million cash-only bail.

A funeral service for Farrington is scheduled for today in Montezuma, where she had previously lived.