Missouri gunman kills 6 in St. Louis suburb
A Missouri man tore through a City Hall meeting Thursday night, killing three city officials and two police officers before being fatally shot by police officers, the Associated Press reported.
The gunman rushed into a Kirkwood, Mo. city meeting and began firing, while shouting “Shoot the mayor!� said St. Louis County Police spokeswoman Tracy Panus to the AP. Authorities fatally shot the suspect, but not after he had injured two more people.
The names of the victims will not be given out until a press conference Friday morning said Panus. One name, however, known is that of Mayor Mike Swoboda who is in critical condition at St. John’s Mercy Hospital.
The incident started around 7 p.m. when the gunman shot an officer outside of City Hall and then proceeded to head inside, said Panus. The shooter continued his rampage hitting police Officer Tom Ballman in the head, said Janet McNichols, a reporter covering the meeting for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
McNichols continued by saying that the gunman hit Public Works Director Kenneth Yost in the head. Other council members that got hit were Michael Lynch and Connie Karr. City Attorney John Hessel threw chairs at the gunman, trying to fight him off, said McNichols.
The police have not issued the identities of the gunman and the victims, but McNichols said that the shooter was Charles Lee Thornton. Thornton had a history of disrupting meetings and had been issued over 150 tickets.
The New York Times reported that in late January, Thornton had a lawsuit thrown out by a federal judge against the city of Kirkwood and its officials. Thornton claimed that he was being denied his freedom to speak at the council meetings.
Doreen Thornton, Mr. Thornton’s sister-in-law, said she didn’t understand what had happened and that Mr. Thornton had a 17-year-old daughter.
“Cookie [Thornton] never got mad.� Ms. Thornton said. “He was a people person. Cookie was known through his church to be a No. 1 kind of man.� (New York Times)
Gov. Matt Blunt gave a statement Thursday night.
"Tonight our fellow Missourians in the city of Kirkwood were terrorized by a senseless and horrific crime at an open government meeting," he said. "I join Missourians tonight in praying for the victims, their families and friends, and everyone in the community of Kirkwood." (AP)