2 dead, 5 injured in Wendy's shooting

[Wildscar]

Add another one to the list.

2 dead, 5 injured in Wendy's shooting

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080303/ap_ ... s_shooting

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A gunman dressed in a suit and tie burst into a Wendy's restaurant at lunchtime Monday, killing one person and himself and injuring five others, officials and witnesses said.

The gunfire sent customers scampering out of the restaurant. Motorists at the drive-thru window also fled, some leaving their vehicles running.

Palm Beach County sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera said three of the survivors were in critical condition. Two others had minor injuries, including one person who was injured while running away.

Several people were carried from the restaurant on stretchers. Authorities did not identify the shooter or the victims.

"I just saw a lady with a little boy in her arms come running out screaming, 'Somebody's shooting!'" said Sandra Jackson, who had been getting gas across the street. The woman said her husband was still inside, said Jackson, 43, of Palm Springs.

The mayhem unfolded just after noon during the lunch hour rush at the eatery on a major suburban road lined with strip malls, car dealerships and fast food restaurants, about five miles from downtown West Palm Beach. A billboard advertising an upcoming gun show stands just behind the Wendy's.

The shooter entered the restaurant and went to a restroom before coming out brandishing what appeared to be a 9 mm handgun, sheriff's spokesman Paul Miller said.

Ashley Milton, 28, said she had just opened the door to get lunch when she heard the "pop pop" of gunfire and saw people running.

"I really didn't think that's what it was. I thought this can't be happening," she said. "You see your life flash before your eyes."

Josh Maynard, 30, said he and his 20-year-old brother Jerry hit the floor when the well-dressed gunman opened fire. Jerry Maynard said the shooter held his gun sideways and said nothing.

The gunman went to the counter, Miller said, shooting a customer before slowly turning to his left and firing on others before shooting himself.

About 10 to 15 people were believed to be in the restaurant at the time of the shooting, Miller said.

When the shooting stopped, the Maynard brothers ran out of the restaurant. Josh Maynard's blue jeans were torn and his brown leather boots were sliced, damage he said was caused by a bullet that grazed him.

"It felt like somebody kicked me in the foot," he said.

Bob Bertini, a Wendy's Inc. spokesman based in Dublin, Ohio, said the restaurant was cooperating with the sheriff's office.

"This is a terrible and sad day for our restaurant and for this community. It was a senseless tragedy," Bertini said.

[DoubleJ]

A billboard advertising an upcoming gun show stands just behind the Wendy's.

Well, gee, maybe if someone else had the where-with-all to have a gun, maybe, just maybe, fewer people would have been hurt...

least he held it gangsta style, which prolly decreased his accuracy.

[/preaching to choir]

[Wildscar]

A billboard advertising an upcoming gun show stands just behind the Wendy's.

Well, gee, maybe if someone else had the where-with-all to have a gun, maybe, just maybe, fewer people would have been hurt...

least he held it gangsta style, which prolly decreased his accuracy.

[/preaching to choir]

I wondered how long that was going to take for someone to notice that. I too didnt really see why that had to be included in the story.

[pt145ss]

WPB, FL....my old stomping grounds. Things have changed quite a bit back home.

[texasgirl]

A billboard advertising an upcoming gun show stands just behind the Wendy's.

Don't you guys remember? Gun shows are evil they are problem not criminals

[Wildscar]

A billboard advertising an upcoming gun show stands just behind the Wendy's.

Don't you guys remember? Gun shows are evil they are problem not criminals

Yeah thats it. I knew there was something I was missing. Thanks for clearing that up.

[thejtrain]

The BGs are getting more unpredictable. Not a kid dressed in black or pseudo-fatigues, but a 50ish-year-old man in a sport coat & tie. Not a "gun-free zone" like a school but a dime-a-dozen fast food place. Middle of the day, and given that he never shot at the employees, he obviously didn't even have a grudge against Wendy's (so, even more "random" than the other targeted "random" incidents we've seen lately).

My CHL app is going in the mail tomorrow , and my wife is definitely going to read this story.

My one apprehension is, if this story gets any national publicity, the gun-grabbers saying, "FL has had concealed carry for decades and it's really easy to get a CHL - why didn't it prevent this shooting, huh? Huh? Where were your law-abiding gun-wielding heroes this time?"

JT

[gregthehand]

These things are becoming more and more common. It's not even on top of foxnews.com. I'm affraid a trend is increasing.

[seamusTX]

My one apprehension is, if this story gets any national publicity, the gun-grabbers saying, "FL has had concealed carry for decades and it's really easy to get a CHL - why didn't it prevent this shooting, huh?

They won't even admit the possibility that CHLs could do some good.

With only a few percent of people having a license, and many of those not carrying routinely, the probability of an armed citizen being in a crowd of 10-15 is low.

- Jim

[bpet]

"FL has had concealed carry for decades and it's really easy to get a CHL - why didn't it prevent this shooting, huh? Huh? Where were your law-abiding gun-wielding heroes this time?"

A billboard advertising an upcoming gun show stands just behind the Wendy's.

Sounds to me like all the "law-abiding gun-wielding heroes" must have been home counting their stash to see if they could manage to maybe make another purchase at the "gun show".

[dukesean]

My one apprehension is, if this story gets any national publicity, the gun-grabbers saying, "FL has had concealed carry for decades and it's really easy to get a CHL - why didn't it prevent this shooting, huh? Huh? Where were your law-abiding gun-wielding heroes this time?"
JT

Can anyone remind me of the last few public shooting incidents that we have had in Texas? I'm just curious. I did a search and all that came up was 200 hits on Cheney's hunting accident...

[seamusTX]

The last one I can recall was at a church in Fort Worth in 1999:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/sep1999/tex-s17.shtml

- Jim

[RKirby]

The last one I can recall was at a church in Fort Worth in 1999:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/sep1999/tex-s17.shtml

- Jim

That would be Wedgewood Baptist Church. I went to a wedding there not very long after the shooting, which was not that long after the Columbine incident. It was a very strange feeling walking through those doors that day. One I'll probably always remember.

Still gives me the "heebie jeebies" every time this subject comes up.....

[Commander]

Two killed in shooting at Wendy's near West Palm Beach

By Rochelle E. B. Gilken

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, March 03, 2008

UPDATED: 10:19 p.m. March 03, 2008

The victim of the Wendy's shooting has been identified as a 42-year-old Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Lieutenant Rafael (Ray) Vazquez. Vazquez was on lunch break with his wife and child, said Deputy Chief of Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Steve Delai. Five other people were shot in the restaurant at lunchtime.

Vazquez's wife works for the Palm Springs Police Department. She was hired in 2000 as a dispatcher for Palm Springs Police. In 2005, she became a corporal and now runs the midnight shift. She was uninjured. She had just stepped outside to put their 4-year-old son in the car. Apparently she was at the front door. After hearing gunshots, she took cover behind another car farther from the shooting. The couple has a five children aged 4 to 21.

Four others were injured in the rampage. They include Jupiter residents Louis Rader, 65 and his wife Antonia Rader, 62, both shot in the arms and legs; and Vanessa Soto, 16, of Lake Worth. All are in stable condition at various hospitals around the county. Another unidentified 43-year-old male victim was shot in the upper right arm. He was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center and is in stable condition.

The gunman was Alburn Edward Blake, 60, of West Palm Beach. West Palm police searched his residence but found no note. Officials believe he was unemployed, but may have worked in maintenance.

The weapon identified as a 9mm Glock. It is one of the simpler designs in handguns and is popular for use by police forces around the world. It is capable of automatic fire, and the various models can carry 17, 19 or 33 shots, in a clip.

Delai said Vazquez apparently returned to the restaurant because a toy was missing from a meal and he was shot at point blank. He was dressed in civilian clothes.

Firefighters at the Royal Palm Beach fire Station, next to village hall, were reeling after learning a colleague so dedicated to his job, with such a bright future, was gone. "He was a quiet man, and he wasn't a complainer," said District Chief Neil Enos. "I never heard him speak of a problem unless he had a solution to go along with it." Enos said Lt. Vasquez was promoted in January and moved to the Royal Palm Beach fire station from Lake Park. He was in training Monday to prepare for the new duties that awaited him with his new assignment. "He was an up and comer," Enos said. Lt. Kevin Shaw said it was a difficult time to speak publicly about the station's loss. "It's a private thing," he said. "The lifestyle inside the fire station is that it's a family. And then there's your outside family." When pressed for more details, Shaw said of Vasquez: "He was a firefighter yesterday, and today he is dead."

Sandra Jackson of Palm Springs was filling her tank at the Cumberland Farms gas station across the street when the frantic customers began running out of the restaurant. Jackson said a woman rushed out with her young son, screaming that her husband, a firefighter, was still inside. "I said 'what happened? what happened, its going to be ok,'" she said. "She said, 'No there is a guy in Wendy's shooting and my husband hasn't come out.'"

The Fire-Rescue lieutenant, with Battalion 2, was promoted in January and was attending a required training nearby, from which he was on break. He was hired by the department in 2001.

Another firefighter who was on break witnessed the shooting and is receiving counseling.

The firefighter was apparently a floater at the stations in Battalion 2, which cover Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee and Wellington. Fire stations in western Palm Beach County were lowering their American flags to half staff, and employees there were visibly shaken. One firefighter at the station at Wellington Trace was being comforted by colleagues, before he broke away and asked them to leave him alone.

Paul Miller, Palm Beach County Sheriff's spokesman said the gunman came in through the south door shortly before 12:15, went to the bathroom and then came toward the center of the counter and "fired one shot directly at the lieutenant." He had two clips; there was one magazine on the floor and one in the weapon.

Among the other victims: A 43-year-old male was taken to St. Mary's Medical center and is in serious but stable condition. Two victims are at Good Samaritan Medical Center: A 16-year-old female who was shot in the arm and her mother, who may not have been shot. A 65-year-old male and 62-year-old female were taken to Delray Medical Center.

"We don't know the motive behind this," Miller said. After the gunman shot himself in the head, Miller said a "hero kicked the gun away" and then started first aid. No employees of Wendy's were injured.

Witness Jerry Pritcherd, 20, of Fort Myers, said he heard a pop and didn't realize it was gunshots. He said he was "scared" when he heard about 20 pops and ran out. He said he was 10 feet away from the shooter, who he said was a tall man wearing a business suit.

Although one witness described the shooter as a former employee, sheriff s office and Wendy's officials said they had no information that he worked there.

A father and son, Richard and Richard Anon of Miami, were just leaving a John Smith Subs restaurant across Military Trail when they saw customers running out of the Wendy's. "We thought there was a fight in the parking lot. Everyone was just running out," said the elder Anon.

One man walking around the scene pointed to the tear in his jeans and bottom of a work boot, where a bullet grazed him.

"I was just sitting there eating a burger and the guy started shooting."

"Another random shooting like we've seen around the United States," Miller said.



I'm not that familiar with Glocks, but I don't know of any that are fully automatic ....More ignorance/bias on the part of the media.

[thejtrain]

Two killed in shooting at Wendy's near West Palm Beach

By Rochelle E. B. Gilken

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, March 03, 2008

UPDATED: 10:19 p.m. March 03, 2008

<snip>
The weapon identified as a 9mm Glock. It is one of the simpler designs in handguns and is popular for use by police forces around the world. It is capable of automatic fire, and the various models can carry 17, 19 or 33 shots, in a clip.
</snip>

I'm not that familiar with Glocks, but I don't know of any that are fully automatic or hold 33 rounds....More ignorance/bias on the part of the media.

Goes to show that different people lock onto different parts of any story. I completely missed the part about automatic fire but saw the 17, 19, or 33 and figured the reporter thought that the model number (G17, G19, etc.) indicated how many rounds it held. So I looked up Glock.com and found that she was right on the money.

JT