Exclusive | Harrowing video of California Halloween store shooting emerges as witness feared I was going to die

A witness to the deadly shooting inside a Halloween store at a Bay Area mall described the terrifying scene as shots rang out and she ducked for cover — fearing she was “going to die” as several victims were struck by gunfire.Jocelyn Lopez Tabares, 15, and her 23-year-old sister were picking up last-minute accessories for their costumes Friday night at the Spirit Halloween store at the Solano Town Center in Fairfield when a barrage of shots erupted.“I felt like I was going to die,” Lopez Tabares, of Vallejo, told the California Post.“I thought it was going to be my last time living.

I didn’t want to die that way.”The shooting, which left one person dead and six others injured, was a “targeted incident” carried out by a lone gunman, police announced.The suspect remained on the run as of Saturday afternoon.

Lopez Tabares, who was standing near the checkout registers, initially mistook the gunfire for popping balloons, until her sister dragged her to the concrete floor, she recalled.“We were in line getting ready to leave,” Lopez Tabares said.

“Out of nowhere, we just hear at least 10 shots go off.I thought it was a balloon popping.

I was in shock, and everyone just went down.My sister pulled me down because I couldn’t move.

I was so scared.”As dozens of shoppers scrambled toward the exits in panic, the 15-year-old found herself frozen on the floor.“All I could hear was people screaming and running from the back to the front,” she said.The teen then pulled out her cellphone and began recording, determined to document the scene in case she did not survive.“I just had a feeling to do it… to record for evidence,” she said.“And then after I stopped the video, I called my mom, because what if I wasn’t going to make it out of there?”The footage shows the panic inside the store as people drop between merchandise racks and frantically take cover.

Lopez Tabares said she later shared the clip online after seeing early social me...