Awww jeez.
9 Killed in Beer Warehouse Shooting
MANCHESTER, Conn. - A warehouse driver who was asked to resign his job at a beer distributor went on a shooting rampage Tuesday morning that left nine people dead, including himself, and others wounded, company and state officials said.
The number of dead was confirmed by a Connecticut government official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Authorities were notifying victims' relatives before confirming the number of deaths, state police Lt. J. Paul Vance said.
The driver had worked at the distributor for a couple of years and been called in for a disciplinary hearing, said John Hollis of the Connecticut Teamsters, who was with company officials at the scene of the shooting.
Hollis would not say why the driver was being disciplined.
About 50 to 70 people were in the warehouse during a shift change when the gunman opened fire, said Brett Hollander, the director of marketing at Hartford Distributors. Adding to the chaos was a fire at the warehouse, about 10 miles east of Hartford, that has been put out.
Hollander, whose family owns the distributor, said he did not know the driver well.
At least one person died at Hartford Hospital, spokeswoman Michaela Donnelly said. Another victim taken there was in critical condition, and one was in fair condition, she said.
Among the victims was Hollander's cousin, a vice president at the company who was shot in the arm and the face. Hollander said he thought his cousin would be OK. It was not clear if he was among the victims taken to Hartford Hospital.
Police officers from numerous agencies and police and fire vehicles surrounded the warehouse, on a tree-lined road in an industrial park just west of a shopping mall. A SWAT team with a police dog was walking around the property a couple of hours after the 7 a.m. shooting.
Families of workers gathered at the town high school to wait for information and comfort each other.
In a statement, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell offered condolences to the victims' families and co-workers.
"We are all left asking the same questions: How could someone do this? Why did they do this?" she said.
___
Associated Press writers Susan Haigh and Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn.; John Christoffersen in New Haven, Conn.; and Michelle R. Smith in Providence, R.I., contributed to this report.
Source - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100803/ap_on_re_us/us_beer_distributor_shootings
The number of dead was confirmed by a Connecticut government official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Authorities were notifying victims' relatives before confirming the number of deaths, state police Lt. J. Paul Vance said.
The driver had worked at the distributor for a couple of years and been called in for a disciplinary hearing, said John Hollis of the Connecticut Teamsters, who was with company officials at the scene of the shooting.
Hollis would not say why the driver was being disciplined.
About 50 to 70 people were in the warehouse during a shift change when the gunman opened fire, said Brett Hollander, the director of marketing at Hartford Distributors. Adding to the chaos was a fire at the warehouse, about 10 miles east of Hartford, that has been put out.
Hollander, whose family owns the distributor, said he did not know the driver well.
At least one person died at Hartford Hospital, spokeswoman Michaela Donnelly said. Another victim taken there was in critical condition, and one was in fair condition, she said.
Among the victims was Hollander's cousin, a vice president at the company who was shot in the arm and the face. Hollander said he thought his cousin would be OK. It was not clear if he was among the victims taken to Hartford Hospital.
Police officers from numerous agencies and police and fire vehicles surrounded the warehouse, on a tree-lined road in an industrial park just west of a shopping mall. A SWAT team with a police dog was walking around the property a couple of hours after the 7 a.m. shooting.
Families of workers gathered at the town high school to wait for information and comfort each other.
In a statement, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell offered condolences to the victims' families and co-workers.
"We are all left asking the same questions: How could someone do this? Why did they do this?" she said.
___
Associated Press writers Susan Haigh and Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn.; John Christoffersen in New Haven, Conn.; and Michelle R. Smith in Providence, R.I., contributed to this report.
Source - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100803/ap_on_re_us/us_beer_distributor_shootings
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
A very sad day. 
Too bad no one was able to defend themselves... Headline may have been quite different.
Too bad no one was able to defend themselves... Headline may have been quite different.
Ditto that!CaptainMitchell said:A very sad day.
Two open questions for me:
- What was he being disciplined for (please tell me it wasn't something like menancing)
- Being objective, this doesn't happen that often (they just make a big deal of the few times it does), but what has happened that people find this to be some kind of viable option. It's like, it sucks losing your job, but you come to this point where its worth ending your life? Who knows.
- What was he being disciplined for (please tell me it wasn't something like menancing)
- Being objective, this doesn't happen that often (they just make a big deal of the few times it does), but what has happened that people find this to be some kind of viable option. It's like, it sucks losing your job, but you come to this point where its worth ending your life? Who knows.
+1CaptainMitchell said:A very sad day.
If they weren't able to defend themselves (which I assume you mean in this case possess firearms carried for personal protection) then I think you may be assuming that CT does not issue full unrestreicted carry., i assure you they do, I have one.,CaptainMitchell said:A very sad day.
It is not hard to obtain at all, other than the non-res requires a liocense in the jurisdiction of your residence, which we all know is a huge pain here on the Island.
Even in states where no peperwork at all is required to carry a gun, most people don't - simply for the convenience factor. But that is an individual personal choice.
In spite of carry options in the state, a lot of times the employer mandates that their business be a criminal/nutjob protection zone.Captain Will said:If they weren't able to defend themselves (which I assume you mean in this case possess firearms carried for personal protection) then I think you may be assuming that CT does not issue full unrestreicted carry., i assure you they do, I have one.,
It is not hard to obtain at all, other than the non-res requires a liocense in the jurisdiction of your residence, which we all know is a huge pain here on the Island.
Even in states where no peperwork at all is required to carry a gun, most people don't - simply for the convenience factor. But that is an individual personal choice.
+2HKFANBOY said:
This is a state where Class 3 is readily available. No excuse for not defending yourself IMHO.
For once I agree with you Will. However, I believe that a Non Resident license is simpler than a Resident license. I read somewhere that you need to first apply to the town, and then to the State. None-the-less, there's still the court of public opinion where-as anyone seeking to carry concealed might be considered to be a "gun-totin-yahoo".Captain Will said:If they weren't able to defend themselves (which I assume you mean in this case possess firearms carried for personal protection) then I think you may be assuming that CT does not issue full unrestreicted carry., i assure you they do, I have one.,
It is not hard to obtain at all, other than the non-res requires a liocense in the jurisdiction of your residence, which we all know is a huge pain here on the Island.
Even in states where no peperwork at all is required to carry a gun, most people don't - simply for the convenience factor. But that is an individual personal choice.
Either way, for tonight at least, lets simply mourn the senseless loss of life. Tomorrow, we can lay blame. There'll still be enough to go around.
I'm sure you can get used to it, but I've concealed carried for the last 2 days because I've been going to freeport a bunch and I have to say, it can be annoying unless if you're packing some kind of pocket 380. A Glock 19 feels like you're smuggilng a brick in your pants. Open carry is much easier when I've gone to lipsa for the day, but I don't know that it would be comfortable enough to conceal carry all the time to work every day.
I was in PA most of last week and concealed carried my SW MP9C (not much smaller then a Glock 19) in an in waistband holster, after a few minutes it was like it wasn't even there. All it takes is the right holster.hoodfu said:I'm sure you can get used to it, but I've concealed carried for the last 2 days because I've been going to freeport a bunch and I have to say, it can be annoying unless if you're packing some kind of pocket 380. A Glock 19 feels like you're smuggilng a brick in your pants. Open carry is much easier when I've gone to lipsa for the day, but I don't know that it would be comfortable enough to conceal carry all the time to work every day.
Anyway I head this morning on 1010 wins that the shooter was given the option to quit or be fired after he was caught stealing beer. Here is the link to an updated story.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/08/04/police-several-hurt-in-shooting-at-manchester-beer-distributor/
Conn. lunatic slays 8 in fury at 'bigoted' firing
'I killed all the racists'
By REUVEN FENTON in Manchester, Conn., and JEANE MacINTOSH & KATE SHEEHY in New York
Last Updated: 6:12 AM, August 4, 2010
A seething Connecticut warehouse driver who griped that he was the victim of workplace racism -- and who faced the ax for stealing beer -- calmly shot eight terrified co-workers to death yesterday before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.
"I killed the five racists that was there bothering me," Omar Thornton, 34, boasted to his stunned mother by phone after the massacre at Hartford Distributors in Manchester at around 7:30 a.m.
"I love you very much, I want you to take care of yourself. I want you to stop smoking," he then told his mom, Lillie.
A survivor from the devastated beer warehouse is comforted by a loved one in Manchester, Conn.
Thornton, who apparently stashed weapons and ammo in his lunchbox to smuggle them into the beer warehouse, spent the next few minutes arguing with his mother over whether to kill himself.
The killer, described by relatives as a "mama's boy" teetotaler, then hurriedly told her, "The cops [are] knocking on the door, and I'm not going to jail -- I gotta go," said Thornton's uncle, Will Holliday.
He then killed himself.
Officials said Thornton launched the bloodbath minutes after "being given an option to quit or be fired" because he had been caught on video swiping beer.
He calmly told his bosses that he would quit -- "then he went on this rampage," said survivor Steve Hollander, a co-owner who was grazed by bullets.
"He was cool and calm. He didn't yell. He was cold as ice," Hollander said. "He didn't protest when we were meeting with him to show him the video of him stealing. He didn't contest it. He didn't complain. He didn't argue. He didn't admit or deny anything. He just agreed to resign. And then he just unexplainably pulled out his gun and started blasting.
"He shot at me twice and hit me a couple times," Hollander said. "By just the grace of God, I don't know how he missed [killing] me."
Thornton fatally shot the two people standing next to him point-blank in the head, Hollander said. One of them was Bryan Cirigliano, 51, the Teamsters shop steward who had repped Thornton at the 7 a.m. disciplinary hearing.
Hollander said he then "saw [Thornton] running outside of my office window, shooting his gun, carrying his lunchbox, which must have had his weapons in it."
The rampage lasted "simply a matter of minutes," said Manchester Police Chief Marc Montminy. "It was all the way from the front of the walkway to the back of the building. [Victims] were scattered throughout."
One employee screamed to alert co-workers that Thornton appeared to be systematically hunting down victims as he walked through the warehouse office armed with his .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle and a red satchel
"He's shooting! He's shooting! Call 911!" the worker shouted.
After spraying the office with gunfire, "Thornton proceeded to the warehouse and began shooting others," Kevin Rennie, a former newspaper columnist and ex-state senator, said on his blog, quoting an anonymous witness.
"He ran along the loading platform, shooting some and sparing others . . . He shot the two employees who had told him he was fired . . . Employees pleaded with Thornton to . . . put the gun down.
"One wheelchair-bound employee working behind a desk implored Thornton not to kill her," Rennie said. "He implied that because she was in wheelchair, he would not."
A survivor from the devastated beer warehouse is comforted by a loved one in Manchester, Conn.
There were up to 70 workers in the building at the time, officials said. Many ducked under desks or hit the floor for cover. Those lucky enough to escape the building ran into the nearby woods or cowered under cars, witnesses said.
In addition to Cirigliano, the dead included longtime truck driver Victor James, 59.
James' mother, Gloria Wilson, said the last time she saw her son was to kiss him goodbye as he left for work that morning. Then she heard the news that there had been a shooting at the company.
"I just got praying he wasn't one of them," the mom said.
Teamster Craig Pepin, 60, who was called one of the most popular guys at the office, also was killed, as was Bill Ackerman, a 51-year-old warehouse worker.
"I was like, 'Where's Billy, where's Billy?' and they said they hadn't seen him," said Ackerman's girlfriend, Stephanie Laurin. "And then one of his co-workers told me . . . that he saw the shooter go to where Billy's room is that he works in."
Doug Scruton, a 56-year-old forklift operator, was shot dead at the controls of his vehicle.
Edwin Kennison Jr., 49, a truck driver for the company was also killed, The Hartford Courant said. His widow, Katherine, said they had a 13-year-old daughter.
Two people, including Hollander, were wounded.
Officials said Thornton -- an avid chess player and gun collector who listed a local shooting range on his Facebook page -- had been working at the company for more than a year.
He picked the perfect time of day to do the most damage -- in the early morning, with the shift change occurring and the office filled with workers, officials said.
Thornton's family insisted that he was pushed to the extreme by harassment that included his being called the n-word by white co-workers, some of whom "hung a noose in the restroom [with a sign that read], 'Let's hang a n- - - -r,' " said Holliday, his uncle.
Teamster official John Hollis hotly denied the racism allegations, and said Thornton never reported any such problems.
"This is nothing but a guy who flipped out," Hollis said.
But Holliday insisted that his nephew was an "easygoing guy" -- and even suggested that he might not have intended to kill as many people as he did. "There were only supposedly five of them [taunting him,]," he said.
The night before the murders, Thornton talked about wanting to buy one of Holliday's guns, but "his demeanor was level," the uncle said.
Joanne Hannah, mother of Thornton's longtime girlfriend, agreed that there were warning signs.
She said Thornton and her daughter spent the night before the massacre eating subway sandwiches and playing video games -- Thornton's favorite was "Madden Football" -- with Hannah's 13-year-old son, Ryan.
But she did say that Thornton -- who frequently took her daughter, Kristi, 26, to the shooting range -- had complained to them in recent months about racist taunts at work.
When he was promoted to driver from warehouse packer last year, "His co-workers were saying he got promoted with the company because he was a n- - - -r," Hannah told The Post.
"He kept saying, 'I'm sick and tired of people being racist to me,' " Hannah said.
"Kristi said he had complained to his supervisor and union rep, and nobody was taking him seriously."
Hannah added that Thornton had financial problems, and was putting in longer hours at work.
"Everybody's got a breaking point," she said.
'I killed all the racists'
By REUVEN FENTON in Manchester, Conn., and JEANE MacINTOSH & KATE SHEEHY in New York
Last Updated: 6:12 AM, August 4, 2010
A seething Connecticut warehouse driver who griped that he was the victim of workplace racism -- and who faced the ax for stealing beer -- calmly shot eight terrified co-workers to death yesterday before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.
"I killed the five racists that was there bothering me," Omar Thornton, 34, boasted to his stunned mother by phone after the massacre at Hartford Distributors in Manchester at around 7:30 a.m.
"I love you very much, I want you to take care of yourself. I want you to stop smoking," he then told his mom, Lillie.
A survivor from the devastated beer warehouse is comforted by a loved one in Manchester, Conn.
Thornton, who apparently stashed weapons and ammo in his lunchbox to smuggle them into the beer warehouse, spent the next few minutes arguing with his mother over whether to kill himself.
The killer, described by relatives as a "mama's boy" teetotaler, then hurriedly told her, "The cops [are] knocking on the door, and I'm not going to jail -- I gotta go," said Thornton's uncle, Will Holliday.
He then killed himself.
Officials said Thornton launched the bloodbath minutes after "being given an option to quit or be fired" because he had been caught on video swiping beer.
He calmly told his bosses that he would quit -- "then he went on this rampage," said survivor Steve Hollander, a co-owner who was grazed by bullets.
"He was cool and calm. He didn't yell. He was cold as ice," Hollander said. "He didn't protest when we were meeting with him to show him the video of him stealing. He didn't contest it. He didn't complain. He didn't argue. He didn't admit or deny anything. He just agreed to resign. And then he just unexplainably pulled out his gun and started blasting.
"He shot at me twice and hit me a couple times," Hollander said. "By just the grace of God, I don't know how he missed [killing] me."
Thornton fatally shot the two people standing next to him point-blank in the head, Hollander said. One of them was Bryan Cirigliano, 51, the Teamsters shop steward who had repped Thornton at the 7 a.m. disciplinary hearing.
Hollander said he then "saw [Thornton] running outside of my office window, shooting his gun, carrying his lunchbox, which must have had his weapons in it."
The rampage lasted "simply a matter of minutes," said Manchester Police Chief Marc Montminy. "It was all the way from the front of the walkway to the back of the building. [Victims] were scattered throughout."
One employee screamed to alert co-workers that Thornton appeared to be systematically hunting down victims as he walked through the warehouse office armed with his .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle and a red satchel
"He's shooting! He's shooting! Call 911!" the worker shouted.
After spraying the office with gunfire, "Thornton proceeded to the warehouse and began shooting others," Kevin Rennie, a former newspaper columnist and ex-state senator, said on his blog, quoting an anonymous witness.
"He ran along the loading platform, shooting some and sparing others . . . He shot the two employees who had told him he was fired . . . Employees pleaded with Thornton to . . . put the gun down.
"One wheelchair-bound employee working behind a desk implored Thornton not to kill her," Rennie said. "He implied that because she was in wheelchair, he would not."
A survivor from the devastated beer warehouse is comforted by a loved one in Manchester, Conn.
There were up to 70 workers in the building at the time, officials said. Many ducked under desks or hit the floor for cover. Those lucky enough to escape the building ran into the nearby woods or cowered under cars, witnesses said.
In addition to Cirigliano, the dead included longtime truck driver Victor James, 59.
James' mother, Gloria Wilson, said the last time she saw her son was to kiss him goodbye as he left for work that morning. Then she heard the news that there had been a shooting at the company.
"I just got praying he wasn't one of them," the mom said.
Teamster Craig Pepin, 60, who was called one of the most popular guys at the office, also was killed, as was Bill Ackerman, a 51-year-old warehouse worker.
"I was like, 'Where's Billy, where's Billy?' and they said they hadn't seen him," said Ackerman's girlfriend, Stephanie Laurin. "And then one of his co-workers told me . . . that he saw the shooter go to where Billy's room is that he works in."
Doug Scruton, a 56-year-old forklift operator, was shot dead at the controls of his vehicle.
Edwin Kennison Jr., 49, a truck driver for the company was also killed, The Hartford Courant said. His widow, Katherine, said they had a 13-year-old daughter.
Two people, including Hollander, were wounded.
Officials said Thornton -- an avid chess player and gun collector who listed a local shooting range on his Facebook page -- had been working at the company for more than a year.
He picked the perfect time of day to do the most damage -- in the early morning, with the shift change occurring and the office filled with workers, officials said.
Thornton's family insisted that he was pushed to the extreme by harassment that included his being called the n-word by white co-workers, some of whom "hung a noose in the restroom [with a sign that read], 'Let's hang a n- - - -r,' " said Holliday, his uncle.
Teamster official John Hollis hotly denied the racism allegations, and said Thornton never reported any such problems.
"This is nothing but a guy who flipped out," Hollis said.
But Holliday insisted that his nephew was an "easygoing guy" -- and even suggested that he might not have intended to kill as many people as he did. "There were only supposedly five of them [taunting him,]," he said.
The night before the murders, Thornton talked about wanting to buy one of Holliday's guns, but "his demeanor was level," the uncle said.
Joanne Hannah, mother of Thornton's longtime girlfriend, agreed that there were warning signs.
She said Thornton and her daughter spent the night before the massacre eating subway sandwiches and playing video games -- Thornton's favorite was "Madden Football" -- with Hannah's 13-year-old son, Ryan.
But she did say that Thornton -- who frequently took her daughter, Kristi, 26, to the shooting range -- had complained to them in recent months about racist taunts at work.
When he was promoted to driver from warehouse packer last year, "His co-workers were saying he got promoted with the company because he was a n- - - -r," Hannah told The Post.
"He kept saying, 'I'm sick and tired of people being racist to me,' " Hannah said.
"Kristi said he had complained to his supervisor and union rep, and nobody was taking him seriously."
Hannah added that Thornton had financial problems, and was putting in longer hours at work.
"Everybody's got a breaking point," she said.
Any bets on how long it takes for Al Sharpton to show up - my guess is he will be there by lunchtime today.
I'm also guessing that Obama will make a statement along the lines of how the beer distributor management acted stupidly.
I'm also guessing that Obama will make a statement along the lines of how the beer distributor management acted stupidly.
I heard this am on the news this nutcase's uncle is trying to play the race card saying that the nut was having a race issue. It looks like the family is justifiying 8 murders because he was called names?????????
Are you willing to bet on this?PeepSight said:I'm also guessing that Obama will make a statement along the lines of how the beer distributor management acted stupidly.
"Everybody's got a breaking point," she said.
This DOES not justify 8 murders sorry.
Let the poverty pimp games begin
This DOES not justify 8 murders sorry.
Let the poverty pimp games begin
the AR-15 story was of course crap, leo's are saying a handgun, maybe even a 22.
and an orthodox guy was gunned down too...
horrible story whose moral is that it is up to YOU to protect YOU and YOURS and no one else.
and an orthodox guy was gunned down too...
horrible story whose moral is that it is up to YOU to protect YOU and YOURS and no one else.
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
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