Chicago shooting, 4 wounded, gunman dead

[LeoC]

http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=318134
Oddly, the link now gives a "Could not select database" error

Posted Online: Dec. 8i, 2006; 5:30 p.m.
Shooter dead, four others wounded in office tower
<photo on original site>
Photo: AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
An unidentified person is taken from a commuter train station Friday, Dec. 8, 2006, in Chicago. Four people were shot Friday in a downtown Chicago skyscraper that also houses a commuter train station, sending people running from the office tower and stranding rush-hour commuters, authorities said.



CHICAGO (AP) -- The gunman is dead and four other people were taken to area hospitals after a shooting at a downtown skyscraper today that snarled the evening commute and sent people running from the office tower, police said.

Police Supt. Phil Cline said the gunman was armed with a snub-nose revolver, knife and hammer and in just over ''several minutes'' shot four people at the building that also houses a commuter train station.

The gunman was holding a hostage when police fired at him, but ''before the offender died, he may have also shot himself,'' Cline said. Police said they won't know for sure until an autopsy is performed.

Three people were hospitalized in critical condition -- two at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and one at Cook County Hospital -- and one was in stable condition at Rush University Medical Center, Fire Department spokeswoman Eve Rodriguez said.

Fire officials said they received reports of shots fired in the top floor of the 38-story Citigroup Center around 3:15 p.m.

Cindy Penzick, secretary in a law firm on the 37th floor, said that after a co-worker told her she heard gunshots, a police officer with his gun drawn on their floor yelled at them to get out.

Penzick said she usually is calm, ''But I have to tell you this was scary as hell.''

People hurried down the escalators and ran from the skyscraper on the west side of downtown, as dozens of police cars and two fire trucks converged in front of the building.

Keegan Greene, who works at Verizon Wireless on the first floor, was helping a customer when fire alarms began going off.

''One of the security guards came up to us and started saying, ''Run, run, run, run, run!'' Greene said.

Service on the Metra commuter line was suspended for more than an hour while the incident unfolded. Train service resumed just after 5 p.m.

Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said all Metra crew members had been locked into secure areas within the facility.

Many commuters who had planned to board trains were milling around in the cold, trying to figure out how they would get home. Several people congregated in a nearby ATM vestibule to stay warm, while others boarded city buses to stay warm.

Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Wanda Taylor said the CTA was honoring Metra passes on buses and trains.

Janet Buswell, office manager for a firm located on the 25th floor, said her staff learned of the incident when emergency flashers went off and they were told over building speakers to secure their offices and let no one in or out.

''It was a little tense, when you don't know what's going on,'' said Buswell, of RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. ''Of course this is the train station building, so there's always the fear that could be targeted.''

 

[cracked butt]

That's not possible: handguns have been banned in Chicago.

 

[LeoC]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...ooting,0,4460222.story?coll=la-home-headlines

LA times has it now too. This link works for now.

I found it interesting (embarassing) that the gunman "may have shot himself first"

We know this has to be a fake story, I mean evil handguns are banned in Chicago. Daley and Blagovich made sure of that personally!

 

[CountGlockula]

Makes you wonder if your working environment has decent security.

 

[Cosmoline]

Thousands of sheep thrown into terror over a snub nose. People locking themselves into "safe rooms," running into the streets. What a waste of salt this nation has become.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I'll bet it was one of those cop killer assault snub-nosed Saturday night special sniper weapons favored by terrorists because they're so readily available without background checks at gun shows.

Just goes to prove we need more laws, I guess.

 

[Hyunchback]

Yes, we need a law for our law-makers.

"If you pass a restriction on our right or liberties you back it up with your entire earthly wealth. You ban guns to 'keep us safe' and we are not safe then you are dead, flat broke, forever. No hiding money under wife/kids/parents names. All of it gone, forever. Don't like it? Don't take away our rights and you can stay a rich slob."

That would help reduce public debt somewhat. How much is Bloomberg worth?

Too long we've enforced the concept of responsibility with laws over free enterprise while the lawmakers aren't held accountable for their terrible policies. Time to get them to shut up or put up.

 

[george29]

Proof, if one was needed, that guns DO kill, too bad someone other than the perp didn't have a gun too.

 

[280PLUS]

Note the "cache" of weapons. Looks like we better ban knives and hammers, it's for the children.


By DON BABWIN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 1 minute ago

CHICAGO - Carrying a cache of weapons into a bustling downtown office, a gunman chained a law firm's doors closed and fatally shot three people before a police sniper killed him as held a hostage at gunpoint, authorities said.

The standoff at the 43-story Citigroup Center, which also houses a train station, sent office workers fleeing and stranded commuters Friday as the work week drew to a close.

Police entered through another door in the U-shaped law office, and a SWAT officer shot the gunman from about 45 yards away, Police Superintendent Phil Cline said.

There were no negotiations and the hostage was unharmed, police said.

Cline said the gunman carried a revolver, knife and hammer in a large manila envelope and had security escort him to the Wood, Phillips, Katz, Clark & Mortimer office on the 38th floor.

The gunman didn't work in the office but demanded to see one of the victims, police said.

"He was not employed there, but we feel he did have previous encounters with the individuals in that office," Cline said.

Neither the victims, all men, nor the gunman were identified. A fourth victim, a woman, was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the foot, but was released Friday night, said Kim Waterman, a Rush University Medical Center spokeswoman.

Wood Phillips specializes in patent and intellectual property law, according to its Web site.

A partner at the firm, Stephen D. Geimer, declined comment when reached at home by telephone Friday night.

Fire officials said they received reports of shots fired on the 38th floor around 3:15 p.m. There were about 30 people on the floor, they said.

The shooter "grabbed a hostage and he was pointing a gun alternately at the hostage's head and his own head," Cline said.

Cindy Penzick, secretary in a law firm on the 37th floor, said that after a co-worker told her she heard gunshots, a police officer with his gun drawn on their floor yelled at them to get out.

Penzick said she is usually calm, "but I have to tell you this was scary as hell."

People hurried down the escalators and ran from the skyscraper on the west side of downtown.

Keegan Greene, who works at Verizon Wireless on the first floor, was helping a customer when fire alarms began going off.

"One of the security guards came up to us and started saying, "Run, run, run, run, run!" Greene said.

Service on the Metra commuter line was suspended for more than an hour and area buses were diverted while the incident unfolded. Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said all Metra crew members had been locked into secure areas before train service resumed just after 5 p.m.

Janet Buswell, an office manager on the 25th floor, said her staff learned of the incident when emergency flashers went off and they were told over building speakers to secure their offices and let no one in or out.

"It was a little tense, when you don't know what's going on," said Buswell, of RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. "Of course this is the train station building, so there's always the fear that could be targeted."

___

Associated Press writers Carla K. Johnson, Deanna Bellandi, Dave Carpenter and Nathaniel Hernandez contributed to this report.

 

[Jeff White]

Cosmoline said;

Thousands of sheep thrown into terror over a snub nose. People locking themselves into "safe rooms," running into the streets. What a waste of salt this nation has become.

Do you think they told the people what he was armed with and let them make up their own minds about what the threat really was? Isn't it possible that since railroads and subways are known terrorist targets that some kind of emergency plan was enacted resulting in the metro employees going to safe rooms?

Perhaps the building owners also had a plan that called for a lockdown and evacuation of people in public areas?

Isn't it possible that these kinds f contingency plans were brought on by companies and individuals fearing lawsuits if they didn't have plans and take some action?

I really kind of doubt that they announced over public address systems: There is a man on the 38th floor, he has a snubnose revolver a knife and a hammer, everyone run for your lives!

I think it's much more likely that word got out about a crazed gunman in the building. No reference to where he was or how he was armed.

We've all seen how news reporting of incidents like this get messed up. Is it too farfetched to believe that there was a lot of intial confusion as to what was really happening and the people who enacted emergency plans were just trying to make the best decisions they could based on the information they had at the time?

Of course that might get in the way of chance to make a pithy comment about modern society .

Jeff

 

[280PLUS]

I'll be honest, when I read "cache of weapons" I figured a whole crapload of pistols and rifles. They sure do have a way with words over there at AP.