The shopping centre was a scene of happy confusion. A carnival had been set up nearby, and now a clown was throwing coins and bills to the eager crowd.

Suddenly the gay scene changed to nightmare. A man clutched his stomach and dropped to the ground. A clown was shot; a young mother was killed by a stray bullet. The merrymakers were no longer the audience, but unwilling pawns in a dangerous game - with life or death as the stakes.