Police in Illinois say they believe 45-year-old gunman probably knew he was going to be laid off and planned to begin shooting

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Five people who died in a mass shooting at an Illinois warehouse were identified on Saturday, described as victims of a disgruntled employee who had just been dismissed.

In a press conference, Aurora police chief Kristen Ziman said Clayton Parks, Trevor Wehner, Russell Beyer, Vicente Juarez and Josh Pinkard – all employees of the Henry Pratt Company, where the shooting occurred – were killed.

Parks was a human resources manager while Wehner was an HR intern. Pinkard was a plant manager, Beyer a mold operator, and Juarez a stock room attendant and forklift operator.

Police also provided an update on the condition of five Aurora police officers who were injured responding to the shooting. As of Saturday morning, two remained in hospital in stable condition. The other three had either been discharged or were expected to be released shortly.

Police said they believed the assailant, a 45-year-old man who was identified on Friday, likely knew he was going to be dismissed and planned to begin shooting, based on the fact that he carried a gun and spare magazines.

“We’re speculating there,” Ziman said. “I don’t know exactly what was communicated to him but he did report for a meeting where he was terminated.”

Police said they believe the gunman began firing immediately upon being sacked, first at the employee who notified him and then others in the vicinity. Ziman said there were still another 40 witnesses to interview, so details remained preliminary.

According to Aurora police lieutenant Rick Robertson, the response included eight Swat teams and more than 300 officers. Police breached the massive 29,000sq ft warehouse with a bearcat tactical vehicle, he said, and engaged the gunman quickly.

“It was a very short gunfight and then it was over,” he said.

No words were exchanged between officers and the gunman.

Police said the gunman was issued a handgun permit and obtained the firearm legally in 2014. He subsequently applied for a concealed carry permit, which involves a more rigorous background check including fingerprinting. In that process, it was discovered that he was ineligible because of an aggravated assault conviction from Mississippi in 1995.

According to police, the individual was then sent a letter from state police alerting him that he needed to relinquish the weapon to law enforcement. Police chief Ziman said it was unclear what, if any, follow-up may have occurred.

“All of that is is speculative right now,” she said. “Those are the unanswered questions that we’re determining to find.”

The gunman had six prior arrests by Aurora police, including for traffic and domestic violence-related issues. His last arrest was in Aurora in 2008, for violating an order of protection.

The attack came one day after the one-year anniversary of the massacre of 17 people by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high schoool in Parkland, Florida.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, the Aurora incident was the 39th mass shooting of 2019. GVA defines a mass shooting as any event where four or more people are struck by gunfire.