9 Dead After Distraught Former Employee Opens Fire
Distraught employee, Omar Thornton, who was facing a disciplinary hearing at a family-owned beer distributing company, Hartford Distributors Inc., opened fire at his former place of employment on Tuesday, August 3, 2010. The shooting occurred shortly after 7:00 a.m.
Thornton, according to MSNBC, who asked to resign, was at the Connecticut warehouse for a meeting scheduled with his union representatives and the company. It is not officially known why Thornton, a former driver for the company, was asked to resign or why he was to attend a disciplinary hearing. However, a police officer told the “Hartford Courant” that company officials suspected Thornton stole from the beer distributor.
There were reportedly up to 70 workers inside the warehouse at the time of the shooting. Using a .223 caliber semiautomatic rifle, Thornton shot several of his former coworkers. Thornton then shot himself with the same weapon as police approached. Authorities informed the families of the gunman’s victims, who were waiting at a nearby high school, before releasing the number of deaths to the press.
[image: Wikimedia Commons]
