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Ex-guard pleads not guilty in mall shooting

CORALVILLE (AP) – A former security guard has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of a 20-year-old coworker shot dead inside a busy Iowa mall.

Court records show 22-year-old Alexander Kozak entered the plea in writing on Thursday through his attorney.

Investigators say Kozak shot Andrea Farrington multiple times June 12 at the Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville, killing her. The shooting prompted a chaotic scene in which some shoppers fled and others went on lockdown.

Kozak worked as a mall security guard but quit his job earlier in the day. Investigators say he went to his North Liberty home to retrieve a gun and returned to shoot Farrington, who worked at a children’s museum at the mall.

Kozak was arrested during a traffic stop near Davenport after the shooting.

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