Gunman shooting: Gunman kills ex-wife at The Oaks Mall, Southern California

In a heated argument, a man shot his ex-wife at a Southern California mall before shooting her to death and turning the gun on himself, authorities said. The incident took place on Saturday which created chaos at the mall, people shopping at the mall ran into the stores and out the exits.

The 33-year-old Los Angeles-area gunman is in the hospital. He was in critical condition, the Ventura County Star newspaper reported. At about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Los Angeles, the man went to a a store at The Oaks mall in the city of Thousand Oaks, where he got into argument with his 30-year-old ex-wife, Ventura County sheriff's Sgt. Eric Buschow said.

The initial indications show the shooting was a murder and attempted suicide, the divorced couple have two children and they have been found safe, said Buschow.

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The shooting at The Oaks mall led to chaos and a lockdown as the gunman shot in open-air.

Jeffrey Simpson, 17, was shopping with his mother at a department store when an announcement came over the intercom about a threat outside the mall. He told, "I went to Nordstrom to get pants, and the next thing I know, the doors are being sealed."

He said, " My mom was a little shaken but OK, we were inside the store for more than an hour. People were allowed to move around and employees tried their best to make people comfortable."

Matt Lemieux told that he was working on his computer inside a coffee store when he suddenly saw "a whole group of people" running by. "It was creepy," he said.

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