Nine people are dead in a workplace shooting at a family-owned beer and wine wholesaler, police said.

[CENTRO ANTI-BLASFEMIA]

MANCHESTER, Conn. — —
Nine people are dead in a workplace shooting at a family-owned beer
and wine wholesaler, police said.

Sources said Omar S. Thornton, 34, was a driver for Hartford
Distributors and was described by a Teamsters Union official as a
recent hire and a "disciplinary problem."

"The union was bringing him in to meet with the company to remedy the
problem," said John Hollis, a Teamsters official. "He started
shooting."



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Thornton shot a number of people and then shot himself with a .223
caliber semiautomatic rifle as police approached and is dead, sources
said. Two people were shot outside the building and five were shot
inside, police sources said.

Hollis declined to describe the nature of the disciplinary problem,
and he said he wasn't certain if the meeting had taken place when the
shooting started. A law enforcement source said Thornton had been
suspected of stealing from the business.

Joanne Hannah, who lives in the Enfield neighborhood where Thornton
lived until about a month ago, said her daughter Kristi had dated
Thornton for eight years. Thornton, who is black, had complained about
being racially harassed at work. Thornton brought his complaints to
his superiors, who did nothing about it, she said her daughter told
her.

Joanne Hannah said she and her daughter are shocked by the news, and
that Thornton seemed to be "the most mellowest, peaceful person," she
said.

Hannah said her daughter called Thornton's mother, who told her she
spoke with Thornton this morning.

Omar Thornton told his mother he'd shot some people, loved his mother,
loved his girlfriend and said he was sorry, Hannah said.

Steve Hollander, a member of the family that founded and owns the
company, is one of the wounded, a police source said. He was shot in
the neck, the source said.

"Everyone is devastated by this tragic and senseless act," said Jim
Battaglio, a spokesman for the Hollander family, adding that the
Hollander family intends to focus its attention and efforts on the
families and the victims.

Steven Hollander is fair condition, he said.

Another shooting victim was identified as Bryan Cirigliano, 51, of
Newington, by a man at Hartford Hospital who said he was Cirigliano's
brother. Bryan Cirigliano is the president of the Teamsters Local 1035
that represents drivers at Hartford Distributors.

Another victim was identified as Victor James, who died at Hartford
Hospital, officials said.

Gloria Wilson, 86, said her son Victor would have turned 60 on Aug.
30.

James, of Windsor, had two adult daughters and four grandchildren.

Wilson said she had already heard about the shootings when her other
son called with the news that Victor James was dead.

"I just got praying he wasn't one of them, and he was," she said.

"There wasn't a better family man," Wilson said.

James was planning to retire from Hartford Distributors this year
after working for the company as a truck driver for 30 years. He
planned to work around his home and tinker with an old car he had,
Wilson said.

James grew up in Providence and Cranston, R.I. He had one brother,
Robert James, Wilson said.

"He loved his children and his grandchildren," she said. "He'd take
the grandchildren out for movies. He devoted his weekends to them."

Two school buses were brought in to transport employees away about
9:30 a.m. They were brought to Manchester High School, where family
members gathered.

Manchester Sgt. Sandy Ficara confirmed that Omar Thornton was the
shooter. Police believe his fatal gunshot wound was self-inflicted, he
said.

"It's one of those workplace scenes that happens all over the
country," he said.

He confirmed that family members, and possibly some workers, are at
Manchester High School. Relatives from out of state have been calling
the police station asking about their loved ones, he said. Police have
not confirmed the victims' identities yet, he said.

The shooting began shortly before 7:30 a.m. in a facility of the beer
and wine distribution company, one of the state's largest. At the
time, there were about 35 or 40 people in the office and warehouse,
said Brett Hollander, the director of marketing for the company.

"Our shifts were just changing," said Hollander, who said the shooter
was an employee.

"There are definitely some people that are shot, some people that are
dead," Hollander said, speaking in a tense and shaken voice about 8:30
a.m. Employees were in a warehouse across the street when police
entered the building where the shooter was located.

The East Hartford police tactical response team was training at 7:33
a.m., when the department received a general call for help, said
Officer Hugo Benettieri, police spokesman. As a result, the
neighboring department was one of the first police agencies at the
scene. The team helped with "building entry," he said.

Thornton received two speeding tickets, in February 2007 and December
2008, that led to DMV suspending his commercial driver's license for
three months, according to DMV records.

Thornton filed bankruptcy in 2000 at age 24, under the name Thornton
Omar Sharriff. He reported $600 in the bank and nearly $16,000 in
debts, including a car loan and student loans. At the time he was a
delivery driver in Middletown for Stericycle, a medical- and hazardous-
waste disposal firm. A corporate official said the company would not
discuss Thornton.

Hartford Hospital was treating the only three victims of the shooting
that were hospitalized, officials said. One died on his way into
surgery.

Shortly after the shooting, a thick column of black smoke could be
seen coming from the building. It later turned to white, then stopped
as firefighters were on the scene. The fire was caused by a forklift
that tipped over when its operator was shot, a law enforcement source
said.

A number of bomb squad vehicles were seen entering the property about
9:20 a.m. A state police dispatcher said they were there to check the
suspect's car.

Hartford Distributors is at 131 Chapel Road, near the border of South
Windsor and Manchester in the area Buckland Hills Mall and Interstate
291. The company is one of the state's largest beer and wine
distributorships, carrying hundreds of brands. The company merged last
year with Franklin Distributors, a South Windsor company. Employees
are represented by the Teamsters union.

Hartford Distributors was founded by Jules Hollander, the father of
the current president, Ross Hollander, and grandfather of Brett, the
marketing chief, and Steve, who was reported to have been shot. The
company was located on Tolland Street in East Hartford for many years
before moving to Manchester about 15 years ago, said U.S. Rep. John B.
Larson.

Last year, the company bought a rival, Franklin Distributors of South
Windsor.

Larson, of East Hartford, who is close to the Hollanders and some of
the union officials, visited the company in mid-morning after the
shootings.

"The Hollander family is probably one of the most venerated families
in the Hartford area in the Jewish community," Larson said. "There
isn't a charity that they haven't contributed."

The family, for example, in 1994 donated a full-size bronze statue of
Mark Twain to the city of Hartford. The statue had been commissioned
by a Missouri riverboat company with hopes of selling it to Hartford,
but the city couldn't afford it. It was in front of the library on
Main Street for a few years until renovations forced it to a side
street – but the Hollanders agreed to pay to move it back to its
rightful spot earlier this year.

http://www.courant.com/community/manchester/hc-omar-thornton-workplace-shooting-020100803,0,2805175,full.story