MYNORTHWEST NEWS

‘Heroes’ sad for woman who fired shots at Gig Harbor grocery store

Aug 13, 2012, 10:59 AM | Updated: Aug 14, 2012, 8:00 am

Greg and Maureen Sikora ran inside a Gig Harbor grocery store Saturday afternoon after learning someone opened fire inside.

Police say 20-year-old Laura Katja Sorenson went into the Food Market at Lake Kathryn just before 1 p.m. and walked around briefly before she began firing.

A man in his seventies was shot in the leg and a man in his thirties who was shot in the mid-section. They were both transported to Tacoma General Hospital. A 20-year-old cashier was hit by a ricochet.

The Sikoras told the Dori Monson Show they were headed next door to the pharmacy when someone ran out of the store yelling about a shooting inside.

Greg said he jumped out of the car and ran inside where he knew people may be injured, including possibly his friends who work at the market.

He asked a woman where the shooter was in the store.

“She pointed to this young girl standing there dumbfounded. Luckily she didn’t have a gun in her hand.”

He began yelling at Sorenson to get on the ground, which she did, and realized he was standing in a pool of blood coming from an older gentleman. At that moment he saw his wife sit on Sorenson.

“I didn’t know she followed me into the store,” Greg said.

“I headed in and saw the girl on the floor,” said Maureen. “I knew she had to stay where she was.”

Maureen told Dori she began asking Sorenson all kinds of questions, which she later relayed to police, who arrested her.

“She was very sad. She got very angry. She said she was going to kill herself and she was going to take men with her,” Maureen recalled. “She mentioned something really bad happened to her when she was younger.”

Police arrived and took Sorenson into custody. She has been charged with two counts of first degree attempted murder with intent to commit murder. Read the charging documents.

While Maureen hopes the victims are doing well and the Sorenson is wrong for what she did, she hopes Sorenson gets help.

“I was desperately sad. She’s a 20-year-old girl and her life has been ruined.”

By Stephanie Klein, MyNorthwest.com

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‘Heroes’ sad for woman who fired shots at Gig Harbor grocery store