Six People, Including Two Police Officers, Dead in Kirkwood Shooting

[Sumanadevii]

It could have been my son who is LE in this area...

KSDK) Police have shot and killed a man who allegedly opened fire inside a zone meeting at the Kirkwood City Hall.

Police say the man, indentified as Charles "Cookie" Thorton, entered the city hall meeting and opened fire. An eyewitness say Thurman walked into a zoning meeting, and yelled "all we want is justice" and then started shooting.Advertisement



Witness say Thorton then ran out of the room with several other people.

NewsChannel 5's Casey Nolan is reporting that two people have been taken to St. John's Mercy Medical Center. It is not known who these two people are.

We'll bring you the latest as it develops.


http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=139898

[gramvof14]

OMG so far 5 people are dead 2 police officers the Mayor and 3 other people 2 more have been taken to the hospital

[dojewo]

My prayers go out to all the families. :1222423:

[Sumanadevii]

Live feed...so sad

http://www.ksdk.com/video/live/live.aspx

[Grande]

Six People, Including Two Police Officers, Dead in Kirkwood Shooting
Last Edited: Thursday, 07 Feb 2008, 10:06 PM CST

Six people were killed, including the shooter and two officers, after a gunman opened fire at a meeting of the Kirkwood City Council in suburban St. Louis Thursday night.

Two police officers and three people attending the meeting were killed after the gunman rushed the council chambers and began firing as he yelled "Shoot the mayor!", according to St. Louis County Police spokeswoman Tracy Panus. Two others were wounded.

The gunman was fatally shot by Kirkwood police.

Panus said the gunman killed one officer outside the city hall, then walked into the chambers and shot another. He continued firing in the chambers, killing three attendees and wounding two others, she said. Names of the victims were not released.

Reporter Janet McNichols, who was covering the meeting for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, said the 7 p.m. meeting with about 30 people had just started when the shooter rushed into the council chambers and began opening fire with at least one weapon. He started yelling "shoot the mayor" while walking around and firing, hitting police officer Tom Ballman in the head, she said.

The shooter then went after Public Works Director Kenneth Yost, who was sitting in front of Kirkwood Mayor Mike Swoboda, and shot Yost in the head, McNichols said.

McNichols also said the shooter fired at City Attorney John Hessel, who tried to fight off the attacker by throwing chairs. The shooter then moved behind the desk where the council sits and fired more shots at council members.

McNichols said Swoboda, and council members Michael H.T. Lynch and Connie Karr also were hit. She identified the as Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton, a man she knows from covering the council. McNichols said Thornton was often a contentious presence; he had twice been convicted of disorderly conduct for disrupting meetings in May 2006.

Most of Thornton's ire was directed at the mayor and Yost, she said.

Dozens of emergency vehicles were on the scene and an area of several blocks was cordoned off along a busy north-south corridor around the city hall.

Kirkwood is about 20 miles southwest of downtown St. Louis, just inside the I-270 loop. City Hall is located in a quiet area filled with condominiums, eateries and shops, and is not far from a dance studio and train station.

Mary Linehares, a teacher who lives about four blocks from City Hall, described the town as quiet and eclectic after walking down to the scene with her husband.

http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5713224&version=14&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

[Sumanadevii]

There is really such disbelief in this area on this horror...there is no way to describe what the community is going through...Here is the front page of our local news...I couldn't really choose which to show..so I show them all.

http://www.ksdk.com/

[Texas53]

I was reading where the shooter had been banned from meeting because of harrassing speech & bahavior towards the mayor and the council. I'm guessing this may have been a motive in his mind to take the action he did.

You just never know how people are going to react to things.

For the victims and their families. :1222423:

[Sumanadevii]

I was reading where the shooter had been banned from meeting because of harrassing speech & bahavior towards the mayor and the council. I'm guessing this may have been a motive in his mind to take the action he did.

You just never know how people are going to react to things.

For the victims and their families. :1222423:

There had been a court case not long ago..the judge sided with the city council. He was mad. They were prepared (they thought) for him to disrupt the meeting. They didn't count on him killing an officer outside and using his weapon. He came into the Hall with two weapons..shooting.

[Texas53]

There had been a court case not long ago..the judge sided with the city council. He was mad. They were prepared (they thought) for him to disrupt the meeting. They didn't count on him killing an officer outside and using his weapon. He came into the Hall with two weapons..shooting.


Sadly, in matter such as this, you have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

[wheezer]

It could have been my son who is LE in this area...

KSDK) Police have shot and killed a man who allegedly opened fire inside a zone meeting at the Kirkwood City Hall.

Police say the man, indentified as Charles "Cookie" Thorton, entered the city hall meeting and opened fire. An eyewitness say Thurman walked into a zoning meeting, and yelled "all we want is justice" and then started shooting.Advertisement



Witness say Thorton then ran out of the room with several other people.

NewsChannel 5's Casey Nolan is reporting that two people have been taken to St. John's Mercy Medical Center. It is not known who these two people are.

We'll bring you the latest as it develops.


http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=139898

Sumanadevii, my hometown is Granite City, IL.
I had two messages from my MIL when I got home last evening. Called her back and she told me what had happened. I am so sorry for these victims and their families. Just a senseless tragedy. :1222423:

[emmeblu]

:1222423:Victims and their families.
This is a terrible tragedy. I guess you never expect that someone is going to reach a point where they do something this terrible.

With all of the public shootings that kill innocent people happening so often, I believe it is past time to rethink security.
Just scary, plain scary.

[Sumanadevii]

Front page again of our local news. The shooters mother speaks. I don't know if I should believe the horrid things she said about LE or not. I will say this...It wasn't the time or place to bring this up. She could have waited until the bodies were in their graves.:mad:

http://www.ksdk.com/video/default.aspx?aid=68284&sid=139947&bw=hi&cat=2

[Roamer]

The news said he had previously been thrown out of two other council meetings. I don't think he should have been allowed into this one. Or did he get in after he shot the first officer?

It's normal for a mother to stand up for her child, but.... she should have had some moral outrage for what he did, IMO.

[Sumanadevii]

The news said he had previously been thrown out of two other council meetings. I don't think he should have been allowed into this one. Or did he get in after he shot the first officer?

It's normal for a mother to stand up for her child, but.... she should have had some moral outrage for what he did, IMO.
The council meetings are open to the public. They had LE on standby but they in no way expected this. They thought he would come and disrupt the meeting. The plan was for LE to escort him back outside if he wouldn't quiet down.

I do hope his mother is proved a liar. I sure hope our LE is not involved in something like this..but you never know.

[AndSteph]

I had seen reports of the shooting...but I just read the thread. I saw the shooters wife on TV last night and she kept apologizing...

What a nightmare for the town.

[Sumanadevii]

A funeral was held today for Sgt. Bill Biggs. The procession was six miles long filled with family, friends and police officers from all over the country. The streets were lined with citizens holding their hands over their hearts. Businesses in the area nearly closed as the procession passed...everyone paying their respects. A sad day for this community...sad indeed. The outpouring of caring, love, support is so great. May it help all of us to heal.