AP News is reporting that nine people are dead at a beer distribution company in Manchester Connecticut after Omar Thorton opened fire at his workplace and then turned the gun on himself. Two other people were shot but are expected to survive. A union worker, Christopher Roos, claims that Thorton was caught on tape stealing beer and was called into a disciplinary hearing to resign. Instead he opened fire killing eight people.
The mother of Thorton’s girlfriend expressed that he complained of racial harassment such as finding a picture of a noose and a racial epithet written on a bathroom wall. She went on to say that managers at the facility did nothing to respond to his complaints. Roos said that he is unaware of any complaints filed with the union or a government agency. “It’s got nothing to do with race,” Roos said. “This is a disgruntled employee who shot a bunch of people.”
This is a scary tragedy.