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Police: Suicidal Man Drives Into Mall

Official: 'It Could Have Been Very Catastrophic'

POSTED: Monday, December 11, 2006
UPDATED: 2:48 pm EST December 12,2006

A 19-year-old man attempted to commit suicide Monday night by intentionally ramming his car through the front doors of the Altamonte Mall in Seminole County Monday night, driving toward a food court area and then crashing while speeding down an escalator, police told Local 6 News.

Police said Adam Soloman Kahim, of Longwood, Fla., was in serious condition after being extricated from his red Mitsubishi and transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Kahim will be held for 72 hours for a psychiatric evaluation, according to Altamonte Springs police. He will be charged with criminal mischief and culpable negligence, pending an investigation, police said.

"The person apparently drove through the entrance here in between Dillards and Macy's," Seminole County fire-rescue spokesman Alan Harris said. "He went all the way down toward the food court area but didn't make it to the food court because, of course, the escalators there. It fell to the first floor, and the vehicle was on its side. Luckily, we had a special operations team that happens to have a fire station right next to the mall."

There were no other injuries, but the mall suffered approximately $100,000 in damages, including $5,000 in damages to Ero's Perfume.

The mall was closed at the time of the incident.

"If this had been two hours earlier, full of Christmas shoppers and other holiday shoppers, it could have been very catastrophic," Harris said.

The Altamonte Mall opened Tuesday for regular business hours from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The second-level food-court mall entrance will remain closed until further notice.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

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