A 22-year old woman was shot dead inside the Nordstrom department store in Chicago amidst the busy Black Friday shopping spree that was going on.
According to the report by ABC News, employee Nadia Ezaldein was pronounced dead on Saturday afternoon after being put on life support. Autopsy reports showed the victim died of gunshot wounds to the head and forearm.
In another report by the Chicago Tribune, the victim's ex-boyfriend, 31-year old Marcus Dee is pinpointed as the prime suspect of the crime. Dee allegedly opened fire on Ezaldein before killing himself, in what authorities deemed as a "domestic-related" incident.
While police officers say that no other customers were harmed during the shooting, they will conduct further investigations on the matter.
Meanwhile, the high-end department store re-opened on Sunday, just 48 hours after the gruesome incident occurred.
According to Nordstrom spokeswoman Tara Darrow, the decision to get back to business came about the same day, noting that both employees and customers alike would have an easier time coping with the incident if everyone went on with their lives and moved on.
"We just decided yesterday that it felt OK to open today," Darrow said in an official statement. "Sometimes coming back to work and being surrounded by co-workers helps with processing things."
Darrow added that the main reason for closing shop after the incident was to show their respect for Ezaldein and her family, as well as to give the employees enough time to "regroup and support each other."
She also noted that while the store naturally had incurred a considerable amount of losses following their decision to temporarily shut business down; it is the least of the company's priorities.
"At this point that's just kind of been the least of our concerns, Darrow added. "Individually, we'll work with employees. If they need to adjust their schedule we will deal with that."
Most residents, on the other hand, are not bothered by the company's decision to re-open after just two days, noting "business must go on."
