Boise police identify officer who fired at mall gunman, provide new details of shooting

BOISE — Police have identified the officer who fired at the suspect in Monday’s mall shooting as Chris Dance, according to a Boise Police Department news release on Friday.

Dance joined the department in May, according to the release. He is on paid administrative leave, which is standard after a “critical incident.”

The suspect, Jacob Bergquist, died Tuesday in a hospital after killing two people at Boise Towne Square and injuring four others, including Dance.

Dance drove up to the scene on a motorcycle, according to BPD. He saw Bergquist firing in his direction, laid his motorcycle down and took cover behind it. Bergquist fired west toward North Milwaukee Street, where a victim was shot and injured.

Two other officers drove up to the scene in a patrol vehicle, according to BPD. They saw someone matching the description of the suspect “behind a business” in the 500 block of Milwaukee. Bergquist began firing at the vehicle. The officer continued driving and fired back at Bergquist before Bergquist ran behind a large trash bin and officers heard an additional shot fired.

All of the victims who survived their injuries have been released from the hospital, according to the release.

Police are still investigating Bergquist’s motives, specifically “looking into questions of whether he may have targeted anyone for any specific reason.”

Before the shooting began, security video showed Bergquist wearing a backpack and carrying a weapon inside the mall for about 40 minutes while he walked around and ate in the food court, the release said.

When a security officer contacted Bergquist, “they spoke, the suspect began to walk away, then turned back and shot the security officer,” according to the release. Jo Acker, a security guard at the mall, was one of the two people Bergquist killed.

Bergquist continued shooting as he walked away and fired “multiple times” at Roberto Padilla Arguelles, who was riding in an escalator. Padilla Arguelles was the second person killed.