Charles Lee Thornton Photo
Charles Lee Thornton (pictured above), aka Cookie, was a notorious man known for his erratic behavior in Kirkwood, Missouri. The 52-year-old Charles Thornton was ruled to lose a federal free-speech lawsuit against this St. Louis suburb at the end of January but insisted to take a revenage on the judge The Kirkwood. On the night of Thursday February 7, Charles Lee Thornton resorted to his malicious action by firing bullets to the Kirkwood officers and lawmakers who were attending a municipal council meeting. The Kirkwood Missouri shootings has caused six people to lose life and left mayor Mike Swoboda in critical condition. Excerpts from WP
Kirkwood Mo -- Ten days after losing a federal lawsuit against this St. Louis suburb he insisted harassed him, a gunman stormed a council meeting, yelled "Shoot the mayor!" and opened fire, killing two police officers and three city officials, authorities and witnesses said.
The gunman, identified as Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton, critically injured the city's mayor and wounded a reporter Thursday night before law enforcers fatally shot him.
Tracy Panus, a St. Louis County Police spokeswoman, said the names of the victims would not be released until a news conference Friday morning. But the wounded included Mayor Mike Swoboda, who was in critical condition late Thursday in the intensive-care unit of St. John's Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur, hospital spokesman Bill McShane said. Another victim, Suburban Journals newspaper reporter Todd Smith, was in satisfactory condition, McShane said.
Panus said the gunman killed one officer outside City Hall, then walked into the council chambers, shot another and continued pulling the trigger.
Janet McNichols, a reporter covering the meeting for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, told the newspaper the meeting had just started when the shooter opened fire. He started yelling about shooting the mayor while walking around and firing, hitting police Officer Tom Ballman in the head, she said.
The shooter then went after Public Works Director Kenneth Yost, who was sitting in front of Swoboda, and shot Yost in the head, McNichols said.
She also said the shooter fired at City Attorney John Hessel, who tried to fight off the attacker by throwing chairs. The shooter then moved behind the desk where the council sits and fired more shots at council members.
"We crawled under the chairs and just laid there," McNichols told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday. "We heard Cookie shooting, and then we heard some shouting, and the police, the Kirkwood police had heard what was going on, and they ran in, and they shot him."
Witness Alan Hopefl told CNN that Thornton was a frequent visitor at council meetings and would be disruptive, sometimes making donkey noises. Hopefl said he was there when the shooting erupted Thursday.
"They just opened up a public hearing, and the attorney was reading the document into the record when Mr. Thornton entered the room, went down one side of the room up to the police officer who's normally there, pulled the gun out, shot the police officer, and then he proceeded to move toward the front of the council," Hopefl said.
The newspaper quoted McNichols as saying Swoboda, and council members Michael H.T. Lynch and Connie Karr also were hit. She identified the gunman as Charles Thornton, whom she knows from covering the council.
What a tragedy!