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Authorities ID woman killed in Iowa mall shooting

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June 13th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) – A security guard at the Coral Ridge Mall is in custody, charged with first-degree murder, in connection with the shooting in the food court area at the mall, Friday evening.

Shooting victim: 20-yr. old Andrea Farrington.

Shooting victim: 20-yr. old Andrea Farrington.

22-year old Alexander Matthew Kozak, of North Liberty, admitted to authorities he shot 20-year-old Andrea Farrington, of Cedar Rapids, at least three times in the back with a nine-millimeter pistol. Farrington worked in the children’s museum at the mall.

A handgun and bullet casings were found at the scene. Farrington died at an Iowa City hospital. No one else was injured. Kozak fled the scene in a small car bearing Texas registration plates. About an hour after the shooting was reported, an Iowa State Patrol Trooper saw the suspect’s vehicle on Interstate 80 eastbound. The car was stopped about 50-miles east of the mall and Kozak was taken into custody without incident.

Kozak was being held in the Muscatine County Jail on $10 million bond. He was employed as a security officer at the Coral Ridge Mall since late 2014. He had been working at the mall on June 12th prior to the shooting.

Farrington graduated from Montezuma High School in 2012. Her family said working for the Children’s Museum at the mall for just over 6 months, was her dream job.