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  http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/DF9F175C2F225844862573E9001BDB9A?OpenDocument |
6 dead in shooting rampage at Kirkwood City Council |
| By Heather Ratcliffe |
| UPDATED 3:45 p.m. The gunman who opened fire on a Kirkwood City Council meeting left a one-line note for his brother before the shootings, which said: "The Truth will win in the end." Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton left the unsigned note on a bed in a bedroom of the house where they both were living, and Gerald Thornton found it after the shooting rampage Thursday night that left two police officers, three city officials and the gunman dead. Charles Thornton stormed into the Kirkwood City Hall on Thursday night and used two weapons -- his own revolver and a cop's gun he took from an officer who was the first victim of the deadly rampage. Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton carried a large-caliber revolver that he used to shoot and kill Kirkwood Police Sgt. William Biggs outside City Hall about 7 p.m. Thursday. Then, he grabbed Biggs' .40-caliber handgun and walked into the council chambers with both guns. Within minutes, he had killed five people -- Biggs, Police Officer Tom Ballman, Councilwoman Connie Karr, Councilman Mike Lynch and Public Works Director Kenneth Yost -- before Kirkwood officers shot and killed Thornton. Neither slain officer had had time to draw his weapon to fight back, police say. Kirkwood Mayor Mike Swoboda was shot and underwent surgery Friday at St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where he was in critical condition this afternoon. A hospital spokesman said the mayor has been in critical condition since he arrived at the hospital. Another victim, Suburban Journals newspaper reporter Todd Smith, was in satisfactory condition with a gunshot wound to the hand. In a brief news conference this morning, Deputy Mayor Tim Griffin said the city is in mourning. "We want to thank the officers who bravely and heroically came to the rescue of those of us in the council chambers," said Griffin. "The business of the city will continue and we will recover, but we will never be the same," he added. "The healing process starts now." According to a sequence of events offered by police, Thornton parked on the street between City Hall and the Kirkwood Police Department. He crossed the street and walked up to Biggs, who had just come out of the police station on his way to grab a pizza at Imo's. "He approached Biggs and we don't know what happened between them, but then he shot Biggs," said County Police Officer Tracy Panus. "He intially had one gun, a large-caliber revolver. After he shot Biggs, he did take his gun and at that point he had two guns." Biggs was able to hit the alert tone on his radio at some point during the confrontation, and that tone summoned help. Officers rushed outside, heard the commotion inside City Hall and ran there to confront Thornton. "They engaged with him in gunfire," Panus said. No word on how many shots were fired in all. Thornton's body was found in a far corner of the council chambers, behind a desk. The gunmans' brother, Gerald Thornton, reiterated today that his brother believed he was "going to war" with a city that did not respect his rights. "I knew a lot, because my brother talked to me about it," he said. Kirkwood Police Chief Jack Plummer's department lost one officer, Sgt. Bill McEntee, in 2005. McEntee was gunned down in the city's Meacham Park neighborhood by Kevin Johnson. Johnson was convicted late last year and sentenced to death earlier this month. At today's news conference, Plummer said: "We've all been here before, unfortunately, and we will move past this." "There's an old phrase, 'you don't get more than you can handle.' That's being tested but we'll get through it. We ask for your help." Griffin, the deputy mayor, said Kirkwood is a great community that will pull through. "We will carry on," he said. "We do this first by honoring the victims and by supporting their families." Meanwhile, police duties in Kirkwood are being handled by St. Louis County police officers and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Panus said Kirkwood requested the assistance. The state and county officers will respond to all police calls in Kirkwood "until further notice," Panus said. |
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