Man shoots up Aurora plant after being fired from job
- 5 years ago
AURORA, ILLINOIS — A man opened fire on his coworkers after losing his job at an Illinois manufacturing plant, using a gun he wasn't even supposed to have.
The Chicago Tribune reports that while at a termination meeting at the Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora, Illinois, Gary Martin pulled out a handgun to shoot and kill the three people in the room with him.
Martin then went on a gun rampage inside the office, shooting dead two coworkers just outside the meeting room and injuring another.
According to CNN, the 45-year-old gunman shot and wounded five of the first police officers who arrived on the scene, before fleeing into the sprawling manufacturing plant.
Aurora police Deputy Chief Keefe Jackson said over 200 to 300 officers from 35 agencies were deployed to the scene to hunt for the suspect and help rescue victims.
The police found Martin in a back machine shop an hour later. He opened fire on the officers, who fired back, killing him.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Martin had been carrying the gun illegally. Police said he bought the handgun in 2014 after getting an Illinois firearm owner's identification card.
A background check failed to turn up a felony aggravated assault charge in Mississippi 25 years earlier, which would've disqualified him from legally owning a gun.
But it wasn't until Martin applied for a concealed carry permit that his conviction was flagged and his firearm owner's ID card revoked. According to CNN, he was instructed to voluntarily relinquish his gun, but never did.
The Chicago Tribune reports that while at a termination meeting at the Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora, Illinois, Gary Martin pulled out a handgun to shoot and kill the three people in the room with him.
Martin then went on a gun rampage inside the office, shooting dead two coworkers just outside the meeting room and injuring another.
According to CNN, the 45-year-old gunman shot and wounded five of the first police officers who arrived on the scene, before fleeing into the sprawling manufacturing plant.
Aurora police Deputy Chief Keefe Jackson said over 200 to 300 officers from 35 agencies were deployed to the scene to hunt for the suspect and help rescue victims.
The police found Martin in a back machine shop an hour later. He opened fire on the officers, who fired back, killing him.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Martin had been carrying the gun illegally. Police said he bought the handgun in 2014 after getting an Illinois firearm owner's identification card.
A background check failed to turn up a felony aggravated assault charge in Mississippi 25 years earlier, which would've disqualified him from legally owning a gun.
But it wasn't until Martin applied for a concealed carry permit that his conviction was flagged and his firearm owner's ID card revoked. According to CNN, he was instructed to voluntarily relinquish his gun, but never did.