Fellow genealogists/family historians : This message was sent to me by the Whitney Group about the tragedy in Salt Lake City. This is a first hand account of someone present at the time of the shooting spree. Sheila Stratton-Peel -----Original Message----- From: ALLAGREEN@aol.com <ALLAGREEN@aol.com> To: WHITNEY-L@rootsweb.com <WHITNEY-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Friday, April 16, 1999 12:12 AM Subject: [WHITNEY-L] Fw: Tragedy at SL FHL--First Hand Account >Dear Friends: > >This is the most complete and cogent account of this tragedy that I have >seen, so I am forwarding it for your information. Let us pray for those who >have suffered in this trial. > >Allan E. Green > >--part1_66aba1b0.2448102d_boundary >Content-Type: message/rfc822 >Content-Disposition: inline > >Return-Path: <BlackSheep-L-request@rootsweb.com> >Received: from rly-za02.mx.aol.com (rly-za02.mail.aol.com [172.31.36.98]) by > air-za05.mail.aol.com (v59.4) with SMTP; Thu, 15 Apr 1999 21:03:15 > -0400 >Received: from bl-14.rootsweb.com (bl-14.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.30]) > by rly-za02.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) > with ESMTP id WAA00579; > Thu, 15 Apr 1999 22:16:10 -0400 (EDT) >Received: (from slist@localhost) > by bl-14.rootsweb.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA12813; > Thu, 15 Apr 1999 19:14:35 -0700 (PDT) >Resent-Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 19:14:35 -0700 (PDT) >Message-ID: <00b501be87ae$ecf39c00$7da70ad0@vogmudet> >Reply-To: "Bobby & Sue Bates" <bsbates@netease.net> >From: "Bobby & Sue Bates" <bsbates@netease.net> >Old-To: "Chris Irwin" <cirwin@escape.ca> >Old-Cc: "BlackSheep-L" <BlackSheep-L@rootsweb.com>, > "Niblack-L" <Niblack-L@rootsweb.com> >Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 21:10:53 -0500 >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >X-Priority: 3 >X-MSMail-Priority: Normal >X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 >X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 >Subject: [BlackSheep-L] Fw: Tragedy at SL FHL--First Hand Account >Resent-Message-ID: <"rwV36.A.UHD.J0pF3"@bl-14.rootsweb.com> >To: BlackSheep-L@rootsweb.com >Resent-From: BlackSheep-L@rootsweb.com >X-Mailing-List: <BlackSheep-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/17180 >X-Loop: BlackSheep-L@rootsweb.com >Precedence: list >Resent-Sender: BlackSheep-L-request@rootsweb.com > >>We learned today, to our horror, that Salt Lake City, and the Family >>History Center, are not immune from the actions of a crazed individual. >> >>I was on the main floor of the FHL, reading "The State of Franklin", in >>which Rev. Thomas Woolsey signed his name to a petition for a new state, >>pondering the imponderables, (my wife says I was asleep). 10:35 a.m. MDT >>(approx.) >> >>She had been on the second floor, and had walked down the curving >>staircase, and through the front lobby, just a minute or two previously, >>and was in the stacks looking for a couple of books, when a man in a >>baseball cap and full beard, in army fatigues, began systematically to fire >>a gun in the front lobby. >> >>I wasn't the first one under the table, but I may have been the second. My >>wife hid behind a big column in the stacks. The gunman must have fired >>20-25 shots, not rapid but slowly, as if he was picking targets. He either >>had two guns or someone got a couple of shots at him, because I heard a >>louder, deeper shot twice. >> >>He killed the Church security guard at the entrance, and a woman, a patron, >>of the library, and shot at least five other people. I think he did most >>of the shooting in the lobby of the building, but I wasn't about to stick >>my head out and see what was going on. I was doing a good job of playing >>dead. >> >>After about eight or ten minutes under the tables, we were evacuated out >>the rear of the building where I met up with my wife, both so relieved we >>were all right. >> >>We all went into a near-by hotel and waited for word. Finally, we began to >>get news from the t.v. which stated that the gunman was holed-up in a room >>and shots were being exchanged with a Salt Lake City Swat team. Rumors >>were rife. >> >>This may have been a man who had had an altercation at the library last >>evening. He also appeared at the "Triad Center" (KSL t.v.) this morning >>and was asking directions to the FHL. There was a yellow Rider U-Rent >>truck parked next to the Triad Center and so a bomb squad was called and >>people were evacuated from there and also from the Delta Center (Jazz >>basketball). >> >>The Swat Team killed the gunman and they announced that he was not wired to >>any bomb. They then made a careful sweep of the building because it was >>thought there may have been a second gunman. I don't know about that, yet. >> About 20 or 30 people in the FHL could not come down from the second floor >>(where the census records and microfilms and readers are) so they locked >>themselves into a couple of rooms and are still there, the last I heard a >>few minutes ago. >> >>About 13 other people were "injured" during this senseless attack, >>heart-attacks, anxiety attacks, etc. So they are saying about 20 people >>have been "injured". With three dead, security guard, one woman, and the >>gunman. >> >>Oh, how I long for a return to a simpler life, a more sensible life, a >>better life. "Sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind". A terrible, terrible >>tragedy, and a sad commentary on the world in which we live today. >> >>I was amazed at how long this gunman shot, carefully and deliberately, it >>seemed like an hour, but was probably about 10 minutes, while we cowered >>under the tables, not moving, nor speaking, not wanting to call undue >>attention to ourselves. I wasn't too scared, as I didn't notice any >>bullets coming close to me, but not knowing when the next shot would come >>or from where. It was not rapid fire, but slow and deliberate. >> >>One of the Church missionaries, a sweet man, was shot in the chest, I don't >>know how he is doing at the moment. One woman was shot in the shoulder and >>another woman had facial lacerations. >> >>I am relieved to report that we are all well, though my glasses, note book, >>and briefcase and coat are still in the library. >> >>I'll go back tomorrow and retrieve them. All of Downtown Salt Lake was >>cordoned off and six of seven emergency teams (units) were at the scene. >> >>The gunman has since been identified as a 70 year old schezophrenic, and >>hadn't taken his medication. >> >>Will stop for now and catch my breath. >> >>Wilford W. Whitaker >> >> >> > > >==== BlackSheep Mailing List ==== >--- >To search the Archives >http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl >Enter the word BLACKSHEEP, then when the next window opens, enter the SUBJECT you are searching for OR the address of the person posting. > > > >--part1_66aba1b0.2448102d_boundary-- >