Jackson Free Press

Six people, including the shooter, are now dead:

Janet McNichols, a reporter covering the meeting for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, told the newspaper that the 7 p.m. meeting with about 30 people had just started when the shooter rushed in and opened fire with at least one weapon. He started yelling about shooting the mayor while walking around and firing, hitting police Officer Tom Ballman in the head, she said.

Mayor Mike Swoboda was wounded, McNichols said. Public Works Director Kenneth Yost was shot in the head, and council members Michael H.T. Lynch and Connie Karr also were hit, she said.

The gunman also fired at City Attorney John Hessel, who tried to fight off the attacker by throwing chairs, McNichols told the newspaper. The shooter then moved behind the desk where the council sits and fired more shots at council members, she said.

"Tonight our fellow Missourians in the city of Kirkwood were terrorized by a senseless and horrific crime at an open government meeting," Gov. Matt Blunt said in a statement. "I join Missourians tonight in praying for the victims, their families and friends, and everyone in the community of Kirkwood."

I pray that nothing like that ever happens here.

Previous Comments

ID

117022

Comment

Any update on the shooter. Who was he and what led to this type of rage and anger towards this group? I thought about our Fire Department and Clarence Torrens(sp) murders. It makes you wonder if acts like these could be avoided if people felt that their voice was being heard. Just thinking.

Author

justjess

Date

2008-02-08T09:54:23-06:00

ID

117023

Comment

I just clicked on the Yahoo News link. Thanks!

Author

justjess

Date

2008-02-08T10:06:30-06:00

ID

117024

Comment

jess, here's more from the article: The gunman, identified as Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton, was fatally shot by law enforcers. He had claimed in the past city leaders stifled and harassed him.... Thornton was often a contentious presence at the council's meetings; he had twice been convicted of disorderly conduct for disrupting meetings in May 2006. The weekly Webster-Kirkwood Times quoted Swoboda as saying in June 2006 that Thornton's contentious remarks over the years created "one of the most embarrassing situations that I have experienced in my many years of public service." The mayor's comments came during a meeting attended by Thornton two weeks after he was forcibly removed from the chambers. Swoboda had said the council considered banning Thornton from future meetings but decided against it. In a federal lawsuit stemming from his arrests during two meetings just weeks apart, Thornton insisted that Kirkwood officials violated his constitutional rights to free speech by barring him from speaking at the meetings. But a judge in St. Louis tossed out the lawsuit Jan. 28, writing that "any restrictions on Thornton's speech were reasonable, viewpoint neutral, and served important governmental interests." Gerald Thornton said the legal setback may have been his brother's final straw. "He has (spoken) on it as best he could in the courts, and they denied all rights to the access of protection and he took it upon himself to go to war and end the issue," he said.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-02-08T10:10:06-06:00

ID

117025

Comment

The gunman's brother was just interviewed on CNN and when asked questions by a reporter, he seemed to suggest that the gunman was at war. Also, CNN anchorman Tony Harris asked the brother, Gerald Thornton, if he condemned Charles Thornton's actions and he acted real nonchalant about it. Tony Harris was very upset at his demeanor. Also this morning, there's been a shooting at a technical school in Baton Rouge. Three people, including the shooter, are dead. And here's a first: the shooter is a female. WBRZ Baton Rouge has the story.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-02-08T10:25:27-06:00

ID

117026

Comment

A female shooter? I don't recall that ever happening before in modern history, unless someone else knows of a story. I wonder if the actions of "Cookie" last night motivated her to carry this out.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-02-08T10:35:17-06:00

ID

117027

Comment

I remember a female shooter that killed several people in a post office within the last couple of years. It is very rare, though.

Author

ellen

Date

2008-02-08T10:42:56-06:00

ID

117028

Comment

Our City Council is talking about developing some "pro-active" approaches to avoid here what happened in Missioui. The fact of the matter is, It is the mayor of this city, his top administrators and the helpless council that continue to kill Jackson. I really wish that they would work on ways to avoid our City's eventual death.

Author

justjess

Date

2008-02-11T11:42:49-06:00

ID

117029

Comment

Missouri

Author

justjess

Date

2008-02-11T11:44:00-06:00

ID

117030

Comment

Justjess, I do agree with you in principle, but I can't fault the mayor and City Council for wanting to do something to prevent what happened in Missouri from happening here. I think it would be irresponsible for them not to. Now, back to your regularly-scheduled Melton bashing (in the appropriate threads, that is)...

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-02-11T12:51:04-06:00

ID

117031

Comment

..and golden eagle, which thread is that? According to news reports, there have been not SIX but, SEVEN murders of would be witnesses in a murder case in Jackson, proper. We have already out-killed Missouri.

Author

justjess

Date

2008-02-12T09:34:40-06:00