Quoted:
This kind of stuff is just the warm-up for the BIG EVENT that will allow the politicians the "fuel" for renewing the AWB.

Wanna bet $?

Quoted:
coincidence or conspiracy?

Cops Once Used Gun in Mo. Plant Shooting
By PAUL SLOCA
ASSOCIATED PRESS

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -

The semiautomatic pistol a factory worker used to kill three co-workers and wound five others before turning it on himself once belonged to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, authorities said.

Stamped with the patrol's emblem and the initials "MSHP," it apparently was legally sold to the gun dealer who sold it to Jonathon Russell last month.

"He bragged to a bunch of guys how it was a real sweet shooting gun," Mack Yarnell, a third-shift worker at the Modine Manufacturing Co. plant, told The Kansas City Star for a story in Thursday editions. "He was real proud of it."

Late Wednesday, shortly after a shift change, Russell, 25, calmly smoked a cigarette and sipped a soda before clocking in. As others on the evening shift arrived, Russell punched his time card and walked to his work station on a soldering line in the center of the large, open plant.

"Then he pulled out a concealed handgun" and began firing, said Jefferson City police Capt. Jim Johnsen. On Thursday, Gov. Bob Holden is expected to veto a measure allowing Missourians to carry concealed weapons.

One of the workers, Mack Yarnell, said he thought someone was hitting a piece of tin.

"I looked at a guy and joked to him, `Sounds like someone's getting shot," Yarnell said.

Russell bought the .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol in June from a Jefferson City gun shop. He lived across the Missouri River in Callaway County and had filled out paperwork to buy a pistol as required by state law, Sheriff Dennis Crane said.

"We checked him out in the computers and he had no criminal record, so there was no reason not to issue the permit," Crane said.

Those killed were Terry Wilson, 44, of Holts Summit, and Ricky Borts, 29, of California, Mo. A supervisor, Tim Wilbers, 42, was shot 50 feet away and died on the way to the hospital.

Five other workers were wounded and being treated at area hospitals. Their conditions ranged from good to critical.

Police described Russell as a quiet man beset by personal woes. He may have targeted specific victims at the plant, where he worked for two years, investigators said. At the time of the shooting, 140 employees were working.

"This could be that it was more planned than a spur of the moment thing," Johnsen said.

Roger Hetrick, a Modine spokesman, said Russell was on probation for missing work too often.

"We simply don't know why he did what he did, and we may never know," Hetrick said.

Russell drove from the plant to the downtown police station, where he fired at two officers who confronted them, Johnsen said. He said one of the officers fired back, and Russell started to run off, then stopped and killed himself.

Racine, Wis.-based Modine Manufacturing Co. makes air and oil filters for various engines and has plants worldwide.

The plant's operations have been suspended at least for the rest of this week. CEO David Rayburn said the company would provide counseling for those who wanted it.

"Modine's focus at this point is on supporting our employees and their families through this very tragic event," Rayburn said in a statement.

---

Associated Press Writers David A. Lieb and Scott Charton contributed to this report from Jefferson City.

--