On a tragic afternoon at the Boise Towne Square mall on October 25, 2021, a 26-year-old White/Caucasian woman named Jo Acker lost her life in a heroic act. Acker, a security guard at the mall, confronted an active shooter to protect the lives of shoppers and employees. The gunman, identified as 27-year-old Jacob Bergquist of Boise, opened fire, fatally wounding Acker on the first floor of the building near a department store.
The tragic event unfolded when Bergquist, dressed in black and
armed with multiple firearms, began shooting inside the mall. After shooting Acker, he continued his rampage, firing multiple rounds that resulted in the death of another individual, 49-year-old Roberto Padilla Arguelles, and injuries to four other people, including a police officer. The chaos sent shoppers fleeing for safety as law enforcement descended on the scene.
Responding officers located Bergquist and an exchange of gunfire ensued. During the shootout, a Boise police officer and a woman in her car were injured. The suspect, Bergquist, was also shot and later died at a hospital the following day. An investigation revealed that Bergquist had 18 spent shell casings inside the mall and was known to law enforcement, with previous reports of disruptive conduct and trespassing at the mall. Despite being a convicted felon, which under federal law should have prohibited him from possessing firearms, a determination of his prohibited status was not made by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives until after the fatal shooting.
