Only minutes before, Brookes had tried to kill his estranged wife Marlene in a nearby underground food court. The couple had separated months earlier, and there was a restraining order against Brookes for threatening her with a knife. He had a long history of violence, court records showed.

She had filed for divorce a month earlier.

As his wife headed to work at Preeners Custom Fabricare, where she pressed shirts, Brookes fired two shots, including one that grazed her temple.

One Bullet: Waiting for a Witness

One Bullet: A Heavy Burden

Closed-circuit TV showed Brookes chasing after her down a hall in the underground mall and catching up to her when she tripped and slid on the polished concrete floor. He then pistol-whipped her, striking her four times as bystanders ran away.

He took a few steps away to leave but then returned to strike her motionless body once more before fleeing to street level.

By this time, someone had called 911 saying there were shots fired in the underground mall, by the McDonald’s.