By OSKAR GARCIA OMAHA, Neb. - The teenage gunman who went on a shooting rampage in a department store may have smuggled an assault rifle into the mall underneath clothing, police said Thursday.

The teenage gunman who went on a shooting rampage in a department store may have smuggled an assault rifle into the mall underneath clothing, police said Thursday.

Less than an hour before he killed eight people and himself in a mall shooting spree, a troubled teenage gunman called the woman who had taken him in to tell her about a suicide note - but she said Thursday she never thought he would hurt anyone but himself.

The teenager carried his rifle into the mall, passing shoppers and decorations. A department store employee was pressing a suit for a customer. A woman was making a quick stop to buy Christmas presents before picking up her son from school. Christmas music played.

A man opened fire with a rifle at a busy department store Wednesday, killing eight people before taking his own life, in an attack that made holiday shoppers run screaming through a mall and barricade themselves in dressing rooms.