Warehouse Became Deathtrap

There were seven crosses Thursday morning outside the auto parts warehouse where a former employee shot and killed six other people before getting into a gun battle with police and being killed.

One of the crosses, representing gunman Salvador Tapia, is off by itself, 25 feet from the others, reports Bernie Tafoya of CBS radio station WBBM-AM. The other six are surrounded by flowers.

The auto-parts warehouse, with only one entrance, was a maze of crates and 55-gallon drums. So when Tapia walked in and started shooting, police said he had effectively cornered all those inside.

After fatally shooting six, including two brothers who owned Windy City Core Supply Inc., Tapia went outside Wednesday morning and opened fire on police.

A team of officers followed the 36-year-old back inside, where he refused to drop his semiautomatic pistol. Hiding behind a box, Tapia again fired at police before an officer fatally shot him, acting Police Superintendent Phil Cline said.

Tapia was fired six months ago for causing trouble at work and frequently showing up late or not at all, Cline said. He said Tapia had since made threatening calls to the owners.

Four of the warehouse workers died at the scene; Tapia and two others died at hospitals. Police believe the victims were shot before officers arrived.

"Once he's inside and by that front door, he's got them cornered," Cline said.

One employee in the building survived — he was inexplicably tied up by Tapia but escaped and called 911, police said. As he fled, he warned another employee who was just arriving for work not to go inside.

A third employee also escaped Tapia's rampage because of a chain of events that included an accident on the Eisenhower Expressway that killed two people. The company's third owner, Robert Bruggeman, didn't arrive until it was all over.

"Thank goodness he offered to take my daughter to school," his wife, Helen Bruggeman, told WGN-TV. "He stopped for coffee like he always does. He was on the expressway, it was backed up, and by the time he got there this had all taken place already."

Police said they received calls about shots fired shortly after 8:30 a.m. The worker who escaped ran across the street to the Dox Grill looking for a phone, where waitress Pamela George was working.

"He said someone was in there shooting. He was really scared, like a chicken with its head cut off," she said.

Police evacuated all buildings within a block of the warehouse, where old auto parts were refurbished for sale to mechanics and auto dealers.

"We saw a guy shooting at police officers outside the building and saw people running around like crazy," said Al Martinez, who owns a business a half-block away. "We came and saw all the cops running, hiding behind cars."

Cline said Tapia had been arrested 12 times, dating back to a conviction in 1989 for unlawful use of a weapon and multiple domestic battery and aggravated assault arrests.

The victims identified by the Cook County medical examiner's office included brothers Alan Weiner, 50, of Wilmette, and Howard Weiner, 59, of Northbrook. Daniel Weiner, 30, Howard's son, was also killed, officials said.

Speaking for the Weiner family, Rabbi Brant Rosen said, "They really want to say that this is a horrible tragedy for them, and they are depending on one another for support."

The other victims were identified as Calvin Ramsey, 44, Robert Taylor, 53, and Juan Valles, 34, all of Chicago.

Taylor had been married more than 20 years with four children and served as the deacon of his church, said his sister, Minnie Taylor.

"He was well loved, well liked," she said. "His smile, his kindness, he always had something kind to say."