STORM2K

Just came across MSNBC. 3-4 people shot at Watkins Motor lines West Chester, Ohio. They are a national LTL trucking company.

Tragic scene today in the Cincinnati area (West Chester is a suburb to the north of Cincinnati city limits). Schools locked down, businesses also. Shooter on the loose. I'll try to give more updates as they become available. Here's the latest news from a local news source.




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http://www.wcpo.com/news/2003/local/11/06/shoot.html

Reported by: Deb Silverman
Web produced by: Liz Foreman
Photographed by: 9News
Last updated: 11/6/03 10:43:08 AM


Police and emergency workers are at the scene of a fatal workplace shooting.

Police received a call that a man entered Watkin's Motor Lines, 6431 Centre Park Drive, in West Chester, at 9:57 a.m. carrying two handguns, and shot five people inside.

Of the five people that have been shot, one is dead, according to Capt. David Kelly of the West Chester Police. All of the victims are male, but police have not released the names of any of the victims.

Three of the victims have been taken to Bethesda North Hospital in Montgomery and one has been taken to Mercy Fairfield Hospital. The extent of their injuries are not known.

West Chester Police are currently searching for the suspect, a 6' to 6'2" heavyset bearded, white man with salt and pepper hair in his 50's wearing glasses and a white and green jacket. Police said the man is in white Chevrolet panel van.

The suspect is still at large. If you see him, please do not approach him. Instead, call 911.

Police said the man could be headed westbound on Crescentville Road.

It is possible that there are no windows in the van.

Stay with WCPO.com and WCPO-TV for updates to this story. Please click "refresh" on your browser to view the most recent version of this story.

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Mary

Oh boy, another shooting!

Update from Eyewitness News 5 NBC in Cincy:

Victims In Workplace Shooting Identified
Suspect Captured In Indiana
WEST CHESTER, Ohio -- A man with two handguns opened fire Thursday at a trucking company, killing two employees and injuring three, then fled in a white van, authorities said.

Donald Haury, 50, Bellbrook, Ohio, was pronounced dead at the scene, and Bob Lines, 65, of Cincinnati died at a local hospital.



The injured victims are: Billy F. Claywell, 48, of Cave City, Ky.; Glenn Brierly, 48, of Hamilton, Ohio; and Gary Fissell, 50, Huntersville, N.C.


Indiana state police said they arrested the suspect about 2 1/2 hours later at a truck stop near New Point, Ind., about 50 miles away. West Chester police said the suspect, Tom West, had worked for the company in Atlanta until 2001. They said he had not been charged in the shootings and was being held in the Decatur County Jail.



The gunman drove through a security checkpoint of Watkins Motor Lines in an industrial park in suburban Cincinnati, West Chester Police Capt. David Kelly said. The man walked into the company, displaying two guns, about 10 a.m. and opened fire on the five men in an office in the mechanics area. About a dozen shell casings were found in the plant that employs 313 people.



The suspect was seen driving away from the company in a Chevrolet van with no front windows. Authorities said West's appearance matched the suspect's description of a 6-foot-tall man with a salt-and-pepper beard.


Indiana police arrested West without incident along Interstate 74 after a person called reporting a man in truck stop was saying police were looking for him, Indiana Lt. Marty McKinney said. Officers did not know West's age or hometown.



He was not armed and police were waiting for a search warrant to search his van Thursday afternoon, McKinney said.


The Lakeland, Fla.-based company said in a statement that West resigned in November 2001. Police did not know why he left and people in the West Chester office did not know him, West Chester Police Chief John Bruce said.


"We have nothing to lead us to believe that he had a grievance against a specific person," Bruce said.


One man was pronounced dead at the company, police said. One of three men taken to Bethesda Hospital North in Cincinnati died about 11 a.m., spokesman Joe Kelley said. The other two were in serious condition with chest wounds, he said.


One person was taken to Mercy Hospital in Fairfield. Hospital spokesman Jeff Weisman said he had no other information.


Police did not know how many people were in the company during the shooting.


A Lakota schools spokesman said the district locked or was monitoring the doors at all of its 19 buildings after the shootings.




The company, which transports freight from multiple customers, has 132 locations and employs more than 12,000.



Stay tuned to WLWT Eyewitness News 5 and refresh this ChannelCincinnati.com page for updates throughout the day.

This is north of me by 20-some miles...sad day for the Cincinnati area, making national news like this...

Oh my!!! That is awful!!! (And you know what? I'm getting kinda sick of saying that- bad news is definitely outweighing good lately!!)