Omar Thornton ,a just fired employee at Hartford Brewing Co in Manchester Ct, decided to bring a gun to work today-Today was the day of a pre- scheduled meeting with Union officials and Company dept heads regarding Omars alleged workplace stealing-- He was shown surveillance tapes that clearly showed the theft and apparent re-selling of Beer. He was let go with no fanfare and no resistance or argument from him. Reportedly Omar even admired the quality of the surveillance tapes.
After the meeting, where union officials had accompanied him and according to inside sources, likely tried their best to save his job-Omar reportedly calmly asked for a glass of water outside the kitchenette, which he was given. This is where he had apparently stashed a gun sometime prior to the meeting. He began a shooting rampage that left eight Hartford Brewing employees dead including his union representative, and many more injured. Although some of the victims seemed specifically targeted, others appeared to simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
When police arrived Thornton was alive and had called 911 operators calmly discussing what he had just done and claiming company racism was the reason for it. He also claimed to be the only black employee, though HBC has at least four other African American employees.
When the shooting was over Thornton apparently turned the gun on himself killing himself immediately. He told police operators who tried to mediate " These cops are gonna kill me. - Don't worry I'm not gonna kill anyone else-I'm done."
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All of the Hartford Brewing Company is in a state of shock and grief. The company boasts a family like atmosphere with most employees of very long tenures. Most of the fatalities were men who were just about to reach full retirement with the company. There were many employees injured as well, and they were taken to area hospitals.
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