Nine Dead in Conn. Beer Distributor Shooting

A Connecticut official says nine people have been killed after an employee who was asked to resign went on a shooting rampage at a beer distributor outside Hartford.

The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke about the Tuesday morning shootings to The Associated Press only on the condition of anonymity.

Police sources said the gunman, whom fellow employees identified as Omar Thornton, was found dead inside the building before 9 a.m., reports CBS affiliate WFSB in Hartford.

Authorities were searching the building to make sure everyone was accounted for before confirming the number of deaths, state police Lt. J. Paul Vance said.

Official sources told WFSB that Thornton, who was a driver with the company, was facing disciplinary action in connection with a theft at the business. The owner of the company was preparing to let Thornton go when witnesses said "all hell broke loose" Tuesday morning.

Union representatives said among the dead were Brian Cirigliano, the shop steward for the union. Workers said Cirigliano would have been the one to escort Thornton into the building for Tuesday's disciplinary hearing.

Also killed was truck driver Victor James, who had 30 years on the job, union officials said.

At least one person died at Hartford Hospital, spokeswoman Michaela Donnelly said. Another victim taken there was in critical condition, and one was in fair condition, she said.

About 50 to 70 people were in the warehouse when the shooting took place early Thursday morning because it was a shift change, said Brett Hollander, the director of marketing at Hartford Distributors. Adding to the chaos was a fire at the warehouse, about 10 miles east of Hartford, that has been put out.

"We're now just trying to figure out who's shot, who's not accounted for," Hollander said.

His cousin, a vice president at the company, was shot in the arm and the face, Hollander said, but he thought he would be OK. It was not clear if he was among the victims taken to Hartford Hospital.

Receptionist Marissa Busiere said she heard another coworker screaming after shots rang out inside the business.

"'He's shooting! He's shooting! Call 911.' And everyone started running out of the building," Busiere said.

State Firearms Bureau records show that an Omar Thornton purchased two firearms in January. Hartford Distributors employees said that Thornton had been on the job for about two to three years.

Mark Quattropani, a long-time employee at the business said he was startled to learn that the business was the center of a SWAT team operation.

"I worked there for 29 years, lots of friends there," Quattropani said. Quattropani said he went to the business after the shooting because his son now has a summer job there.

Hollander, whose family owns the distributor, said he did not know the shooter well.

Police officers from numerous agencies and police and fire vehicles surrounded the warehouse, on a tree-lined road in an industrial park just west of a shopping mall. A SWAT team with a police dog was walking around the property a couple of hours after the 7 a.m. shooting.

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