Woman shot at Chicago Nordstrom during Black Friday dies

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Saturday, November 29, 2014
Woman shot at Nordstrom on Black Friday dies
The woman shot inside Nordstrom's River North store on Black Friday has died, the store said Saturday night. She had turned 22 years old Friday.

CHICAGO -- Authorities say a 22-year-old woman died a day after she was shot inside a Nordstrom department store in Chicago during Black Friday shopping.

The Cook County medical examiner's office says 22-year-old Nadia Ezaldein was pronounced dead at 3:43 p.m. on Saturday. Authorities say 31-year-old Marcus Dee shot Ezaldein before killing himself.

Police say Ezaldein was a seasonal employee at the store. Officers found the shooter dead when they arrived Friday night at the store along Chicago's Magnificent Mile shopping district. The store was closed Saturday and was to reopen on Sunday. Nordstrom spokeswoman Tara Darrow called the shootings a "really sad and scary situation." She says the company is doing its best to support employees.

Authorities say there was no threat to other customers or employees. An investigation is ongoing.

Ezaldein had turned 22 years old Friday.

Dee, of Chicago, is described as the Ezaldein's ex-boyfriend and had allegedly stalked the woman. Dee shot and killed himself after firing at Ezaldein on the first level of the Nordstrom at 55 E. Grand around 8:30 p.m. Friday with the store full of holiday shoppers.

Ezaldein had reportedly broken up with Dee last year, and he is accused of stalking and harassing her ever since.

Her family had reportedly had planned a surprise party for Ezaldein after she got off work Friday. Instead, she spent the night fighting for her life at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after being shot in the head.

It was a fight she lost Saturday night. According to DNAinfo.com, Ezaldein had no brain activity and doctors reportedly kept her on life support until they could harvest her organs.

The store where she had just begun work issued a statement saying, "We are deeply saddened to learn that our employee who was injured in Friday evening's tragedy passed away this afternoon. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends."

"At Nordstrom, we're a family. Our people are very impacted by this and we're doing our best to support them," said Darrow.

Unaware of Friday night's fatal shooting, a steady stream of shoppers tried to get into the Nordstrom store downtown only to find it closed on Saturday. A sign at the Grand Avenue entrance explained the situation.

For those regular customers at Nordstrom, news of the tragedy, especially on Black Friday when the store was more crowded than usual, is unnerving.

"I was there (Friday) afternoon, then left, met my family. My son told me about it this morning and I went, 'Oh my God,'" said shopper Joni Berinstein.

Nordstrom will have grief counselors on site Sunday for employees who need it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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