KIRKWOOD, Mo. Six people died Thursday night when a gunman opened fire at a Kirkwood City Council meeting.
Two police officers and three people attending the meeting were killed before officers returned fire, killing the gunman. Two other people at the council meeting were wounded.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that those killed included Councilwoman Connie Karr. And former council member Tom Noonan reported that the wounded included Kirkwood Mayor Mike Swoboda, who was in critical condition.
The shooter was identified as Charles Lee “Cookie” Thornton, who had long feuded with Kirkwood authorities.
Family members said Thursday night that they had no idea Thornton was contemplating violence and that they didn’t know he was going to the council meeting. Gerald Thornton said his brother’s last words were, “ ‘To God be the glory’ and that he loved us.”
Officer Tracy Panus, a Police Department media relations officer, said the violence began when a police officer was shot and killed outside the City Hall in Kirkwood, a suburb in St. Louis County.
The gunman then continued into the building.
Post-Dispatch reporter Janet McNichols was attending the 7 p.m. council meeting, which had just begun when Thornton rushed in yelling and firing.
“He came from the back of the room,” McNichols said. “He kept (saying) something about ‘shoot the mayor,’ and he just walked around shooting anybody he could.”
She said she saw police Officer Tom Ballman shot in the head first.
Thornton then fired at Public Works Director Kenneth Yost, who was sitting in front of McNichols. He also was shot in the head, McNichols said.
“After that I was on my stomach under the chairs,” she said. “I laid on my stomach waiting to get shot. Oh God, it was horror.”
At some point Thornton fired at City Attorney John Hessel, but he fended off the attacker by throwing chairs.
Also hit by gunfire was Councilman Michael H.T. Lynch, McNichols said.
Dave Bundy, editorial director the the Suburban Journals newspapers, said one of his reporters, Todd Smith, was injured.
“We don’t know if it was a ricochet or what, but it hit him in the hand and shattered a bone or two,” Bundy said.
The wounded were taken to St. John’s Mercy Medical Center.
About 30 people were in the council chambers at the time of the shooting.
For years Thornton had been a contentious figure at City Council meetings in Kirkwood, about 20 miles southwest of downtown St. Louis.
A contractor, he had been cited for dozens of city violations and convicted of most of them, racking up thousands of dollars in fines, the Webster-Kirkwood Times reported. Most of the convictions involved building code violations, such as parking his truck and other equipment in residential areas and performing work without permits.
Thornton had claimed that he was unfairly treated.
At one point council members considered banning him from meetings after he was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a meeting in May 2006, according to the Times.
During that May 18 public hearing regarding a parking lot, Thornton accused the city of operating under a “jackass plantation mentality,” according to the newspaper. After minutes of similar comments, the mayor told him, “That’s enough.”
Thornton refused a police officer’s request to leave, threw himself on the floor and stayed there until the officer threatened to use Mace, the story said. Thornton was handcuffed and charged with disorderly conduct.
The council talked about banning Thornton from meetings but decided against it.
“The City Council has decided that they will not lower themselves to Mr. Thornton’s level,” Swoboda said, according to the story. “We will act with integrity and continue to deal with him at these council proceedings. However, we will not allow Mr. Thornton, or any other person, to disrupt these proceedings.”
Late last month a federal judge in St. Louis dismissed a lawsuit from Thornton claiming Kirkwood officials violated his free speech rights.
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