Showing posts with label gunman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gunman. Show all posts

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Gunman Saw Nevada Walmart as 'Goliath' Before Shooting

RENO, Nev. -- A disgruntled Walmart employee decided to "take on Goliath" the night before he allegedly shot three of his managers and barricaded himself in the Reno store for six hours, according to court documents released Tuesday.

A probable cause declaration, filed in Reno Justice Court and first reported by the Reno Gazette-Journal, indicated John Gillane believed the Walmart superstore in Reno where he worked for the last nine years as his "Goliath."

According to the document, Gillane intended to use two handguns to confront managers in an office and force them to contact the corporate office so he could have a dialogue about his unspecified grievances.

Gillane, 45, confronted one manager at gunpoint in an office, court records show. He then made the man call over two other managers, the document said.

Police say all three managers were shot Friday as they fled from Gillane in a hallway.

Two victims shot in the torso remained in stable condition at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. A third was released from the hospital after treatment Friday. They have requested that their names not be released.

During interviews with police, Gillane said he had personal, financial and work-related problems, the court document said.

He expressed frustration with Walmart management, specifically two of the men he's accused of shooting. The third manager was a man Gillane said he liked, although he shot the man twice.

"Gillane stated that he had almost not followed through with his plan because he realized he would go to jail and not be able to see his daughter and would be fired," the document said. "Nonetheless, Gillane said he determined to carry out his plan and then turn himself into police."

Gillane, who worked in the store's receiving department most recently, remains in the Washoe County jail on three counts of attempted murder and battery. He has declined media interviews until he retains an attorney.


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Monday, September 26, 2011

Gunman on the Loose in D.C. May Have Vendetta Against Marine Corps

The FBI says an unidentified gunman who fired shots at the Washington-area Marine Corps museum and is believed to be responsible for three similar shootings may have a vendetta against the U.S. Marine Corps.

John Perren, the acting assistant director for the FBI's Washington field office, said during a press conference that investigators believe the person takes issue with the institution of the Marines, but not those serving in uniform. The shooter has made sure not to hurt anyone in the attacks and authorities don't believe the person wants to harm citizens or Marines.

The latest shots were fired overnight at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va. -- the second time the facility has been targeted in a month.

The shooting occurred just hours after the FBI linked a shooting that took place overnight Monday at a Marine recruiting center in Chantilly, Va., with a previous shooting at the Marine Corps museum and another at the Pentagon. 

FBI Assistant Director John Perren said the overnight shooting bears the hallmarks of the others, but said authorities need to conduct forensic tests to see if they are connected.

Museum staff came into work Friday morning and found new bullet holes, a public information officer at the museum told Fox News.

No artifacts were damaged and no one was hurt, the officer said

FBI confirmed Thursday that ballistic evidence showed the same weapon was used in the previous shootings.

The latest of those shootings occurred at a vacant Marine recruiting station in Chantilly, Virginia sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

In the early morning hours of October 19 police and FBI investigators responded in force when six shots were fired into the south side of the Pentagon, leaving bullets embedded in two different windows. At the time police said the weapon used was believed to be a high-powered rifle.

And just two days earlier police in Quantico, Virginia responded to a similar attack on the Marine Corps Museum, where bullets were also fired at windows in the early morning hours.

The most recent shooting also comes just days before the Marine Corps Marathon, which  is set to take place in Washington on Sunday morning.

Authorities have yet to identify any suspects in the shootings, but are working under the assumption that the individual was part of the Marine Corps. and possibly dealing with a  traumatic event such as loss of a job, financial problems or divorce.

"We'd like to know what this grievance is and what we can do to try to help solve it," Perren said.

Perren urged anyone who may have information about the suspect to contact authorities and told people to quickly report gunfire or suspicious activity.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Friday that security would be even tighter than usual for the Marine Corps Marathon because of the recent shootings. The Pentagon is a staging ground for Sunday's race.

Prince William County Police Department, the Quantico Marine Corps base military police and the FBI were investigating to see if the same weapon was used in the most recent shooting.

Fox News' Justin Fishel, Mike Levine, James Sprankle and the Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Thursday, July 14, 2011

Gunman Gives Himself Up to Police after Shooting, Standoff at Nevada Walmart

RENO, Nev. -- A gunman who police said was about to be fired surrendered Friday after shooting three co-workers at a Walmart store in Nevada in a possible retaliation attack, authorities said.

The surrender came after police negotiators spoke for two hours by telephone with 45-year-old John Dennis Gillane as he was holed up in the back of the store.

Gillane was taken into custody and will be charged with three counts of attempted murder, Reno police Lt. Mohammad Rafqat said.

No shots were fired after the three victims, including a manager, were wounded shortly after 8:30 a.m., police said.

"I'm very happy he is out and the situation didn't escalate," Rafqat said. "We convinced him the best move was to surrender."

Rafqat did not know how many shots were fired or whether Gillane said anything at the time of the shootings.

"Today was going to be the day he was going to address his employment situation," he said.

Police had not established a motive for the shooting but suspect it was related to the termination, Reno Deputy Police Chief Mike Whan said.

At least nine heavily armed officers entered the store more than an hour before the surrender of Gillane, who police believe had a handgun.

One of the victims was critically wounded, but "the prognosis is good for all of them," said Dan Fogleman, a spokesman for Wal-mart Stores Inc. He provided no further details.

Police originally described all the injuries as non-life threatening but later said they were not sure that was the case.

One victim was treated and released, Rafqat said. Another was in critical but stable condition, and the third was in serious condition.

Employees were placed on a bus in the parking lot of a sporting goods store next to the Walmart.

Washoe County deputies, Sparks police and the FBI joined Reno police in sweeping the store to be sure there were no hostages.

Jack McDonald, 64, of Reno said he works as a greeter at the store but was not there during the shooting.

"There are some strange people who work here, but I can't think of one who would be a vicious enough person to do something like this," McDonald said. "This has to be a personal thing."


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Friday, October 29, 2010

Ohio Shooting Victim Complained About Gunman, Police Say

CLEVELAND –  A woman was shot to death Friday outside the manufacturing plant where she worked by a man whom she had complained about to police, and the gunman also killed her co-worker, authorities said.

Police say Pedro Rodriguez shot Graciela Morales, 49, in her sport-utility vehicle parked outside the factory, then used her employee identification card to gain access to the building. Once inside, Rodriguez sought out 49-year-old Eduardo Pupo and shot him, police said. Rodriguez fled the scene in a car and was hit by a stun gun while police apprehended him later that afternoon.

Morales' niece, Cassandra Morales, says her aunt broke off a relationship with Rodriguez two years ago and he had attacked her once before, sending her to the hospital. Police say Graciela Morales had filed a menacing by stalking report against Rodriguez in July but later decided not to press charges. Police did not say whether Morales and Rodriguez had a relationship.

"We just don't know how he got so close to her and she didn't notice," Cassandra Morales said of the shooting.

Cassandra Morales said her aunt had worked at the plant for four years and had three children.
Gunshots rang out inside the plant at about 1:30 p.m., and a supervisor began yelling for everyone to get out of the building. Machine operator Alberto Gonzalez was searching for an exit along with his colleagues when he saw the gunman reloading his weapon.

"I heard the shotgun," Gonzalez said. "He was loading the gun inside the building like he was ready to shoot somebody else."

Graciela Morales' relatives watched, sobbing, as police loaded an SUV with a plastic tarp over the driver's side door onto a flatbed. A garbage bag covered the driver's seat.

A teenage girl collapsed on the ground crying.

ParkOhio Products Inc. manufactures rubber, silicone and plastic components for various industries, according to its website. The company said in a statement that it was "shocked and saddened" by the shooting and had suspended operations at the facility, a beige warehouse near a scrap yard on a road filled with auto service centers a few miles southwest of downtown Cleveland.

Graciela Morales told police that Rodriguez had driven by her home and workplace numerous times and would stare at her, then drive away. Rodriguez told a detective that he had only called Morales because he was hoping to reconcile with her.

"He was advised that a police report was made and he informed the detective that he was sorry and would stop calling her and would accept that the relationship was over," Morris said in a statement.

Afterward, Morales told police that Rodriguez did not threaten her and there was no "pattern of conduct."

"This was a lovely people that died today," said Gonzalez, who knew both victims. "Everybody loved them."

Coroner's spokesman Powell Caesar says autopsies will likely be conducted Saturday.


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Monday, October 11, 2010

Police say school gunman not cooperating

CARLSBAD, Calif. –  Scott Chandler stood over the lone gunman after he was tackled near the elementary school and yelled: "Why are you shooting kids?"

Chandler, a professional surfer who lives across the street from Kelly Elementary School, never got an answer from the suspect following the shooting around noon Friday.

Police say that minutes earlier suspect had parked his car, jumped a school fence and fired on the playground in the beach community north of San Diego, shooting two students in their right arms.

The students, ages 6 and 7, are expected to make full recoveries, Carlsbad police Lt. Kelly Cain said.

The gunman continued firing rounds as construction workers chased him. At one point, construction worker Carlos Partida told KGTV-TV that he ran to his truck and drove into the gunman to stop him.

"I hit him with my truck," Partida said.

Meanwhile, teachers and school administrators corralled the screaming children into classrooms.

The suspect, Brendan L. O'Rourke, 41, was arrested on suspicion of six counts of attempted murder and numerous weapons violations, Cain said. He is believed to have acted alone.

Cain said he was refusing to answer their questions. Cain said a propane tank was found near his car and a gas canister was also found on the school playground.

He said police do not know what he intended to do or why he opened fire.

"He is possibly a transient who lives in the area," Cain said. "He is not cooperating with the investigation. He probably has some mental health issues."

Parents, like Chandler, shudder to think of what could have happened if the man had not been stopped.

"He had some kind of mission he was on and he didn't complete it," Chandler said.

Chandler was repairing a Jet Ski in his driveway when he heard two loud bangs and saw children running and screaming. He ran downhill in his flip-flops and took cover behind some tall Eucalyptus trees while he called 911. He saw several men struggling on the side of the road.

He approached the crowd after realizing the school's construction workers were pinning down the man. Chandler said he saw bullets fall out of the suspect's pocket.

"I just started yelling him, 'Why are you shooting kids?'" Chandler said. "His face was in the dirt, his teeth were in the dirt, and he just grunted."

Robert Speck, 43, said he raced over to his son's school after hearing the news. He found the school on lockdown. He and scores of other parents waited anxiously for their children in a nearby park.

"It was total panic not knowing what was going on and if our children were OK," Speck, 43, said after reuniting with his son, Kenny.

The 6-year-old said he was not scared but others in his class cried as they listened to the gunshots after running into the classroom for cover.

"I am so grateful to the construction workers," his mother, Tamera Wleklinski, said. "They deserve lunch and free doughnuts for the rest of the year."


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