National Ledger - Kirkwood Shooting: Gunman Shouts Shoot the Mayor, Kills Five

Share This \| Related Kirkwood Shooting: Gunman Shouts Shoot the Mayor, Kills Five
By Brenda Davis Feb 8, 2008

A horrific shooting at City Hall in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood has left six people dead. A gunman burst into a city council meeting after shooting two policemen to enter the building. He would then shoot five more people. The gunman was later killed by a police officer. According to local television reports the seven o'clock meeting was just getting underway when the gunman rushed into the council chambers guns blazing.

Kirkwood Shooting: Gunman Shouts Shoot the Mayor, Kills Five

He had already shot the two police officers outside and then ran into the building and opened fire with at least one weapon. Witnesses claim that the shooter shouted and yelled "shoot the mayor" while moving around and finally firing shots.

***

A St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter was at the meeting and was hit in the hand with what may have been a ricochet bullet and was able to provide an eyewitness report as he survived the onslaught of bullets. "I laid on my stomach waiting to get shot," Janet McNichols would later say. There were about thirty people inside when the man opened fire. A police spokeswoman says the gunman, identified as Charles "Cookie" Thornton was known to cause problems at council meetings in the past.

"He has shot seven people, killing five of them," Officer Tracy Panus said. "(A) Kirkwood police officer returned fire and killed him." KDSK in St. Louis reported that once inside the council room, the gunman then moved behind a curved desk where council members sit and fired at them while they tried to take cover.

Today's Most Popular Stories:

Share This:
To bookmark and share this site, please use the links below:
Tag in Del.icio.us | Digg This | Stumble Upon
Email this article | Print this article | Write the author

Read more from author Brenda Davis

Email this article
Printer friendly page

Write the Author:

Related Information

For more stories from The National Ledger's independent writers on Crime Beat please visit our Crime Beat page.

About
National Ledger

More
Important Links

FEEDS: News | Pop Culture | Ledger Pop | Ledger DC