Police say the man who opened fire in a suburban Portland shopping mall apparently killed himself after fatally shooting two people and wounding a third.

Clackamas County sheriff's Lt. James Rhodes says law enforcement who flooded the Clackamas Town Center in response to the afternoon shooting didn't fire any shots.

Witnesses described a scene of chaos and disbelief as a gunman wearing some sort of camouflage outfit and a white mask shot an initial burst of fire and then more rounds near the mall's food court. Investigators say there were 10,000 people in the mall at the time.

Many shoppers fled and others hid in the backrooms of stores.

Macy's employee Austin Patty says a man carrying a rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest proclaimed, "I am the shooter" and then fired several shots seconds apart.

Patty says there were rapid-fire shots in short succession and then he ducked to the ground and ran. His co-worker Pam Moore told The Associated Press the gunman was short, with dark hair, dressed in camouflage.

Shaun Wik says he was shopping with his girlfriend and opened a fortune cookie at the food court. Inside was written "live for today, remember yesterday, think of tomorrow."

As he read, he heard three shots. He heard a man he believes was the gunman shout, "Get down!" but Wik and his girlfriend ran. He says "if I had looked back, I might not be standing here."

Another witness told KGW-TV that she was shopping at Macy's with her infant son when the shots started. First she grabbed the baby from the stroller and got on the ground. People were screaming and crying. Then she says she put the baby back in the stroller "and ran like hell."