July 09, 2003
Lockheed Martin Employee Kills 5 Co-Workers
Clay Harden (), The Clarion-Ledger, reports:
MERIDIAN — Questions remain today amid the spent shell casings and blood-stained reminders as to why a plant worker burst into an ethics class Tuesday morning, killing five co-workers, wounding nine others and killing himself.
"At first, I thought it was something falling on the ground," said Lockheed Martin employee Booker Steverson. "Then I walked to the aisle and saw him aiming his gun. I took off. Everybody took off."
Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie said co-workers tried to stop Williams, 48, a production assembly man for the past 19 years. "A least two employees tried to restrain him," Sollie said. "He obviously was not stopped because he had his mind made up what he wanted to do."
Lockheed Martin President Dain Hancock said company officials were interviewing all 138 employees who were at work Tuesday. He would not speculate on a cause of the violence.
"This is a horrible tragedy and a senseless crime that has befallen this community," Hancock said. The plant, which had minimal security, will remain closed through the weekend, he said.
Sollie has planned a noon news conference today to reveal more details.
The incident is the nation's deadliest workplace shooting since a software tester in Wakefield, Mass., killed seven people on Dec. 26, 2000.
The most recent Mississippi workplace shooting occurred in 2000 when Doug Mills shot his estranged wife and a supervisor at the Heatcraft plant in Grenada.
Bobby McCall of Cuba, Ala., whose wife Lanette was killed, said she was the subject of racial threats by Williams. The remarks were made to other employees behind his wife's back.
"Obviously, he was a sick guy," McCall said of Williams. "I wish somebody had given him some help before he destroyed my life and my kids' lives."
McCall, who had worked at Lockheed for 19 years, had two daughters, 20 and 29, and two grandchildren.
Williams, 48, of Russell, was attending a mandatory ethics class before the shootings, first reported at 9:43 a.m.
Also killed were Sam Cockrell of Meridian, Thomas Willis of Yantley, Ala., the Rev. C.J. Miller of Meridian and Mickey Fitzgerald of Little Rock.
Investigators recovered a .22-caliber derringer, a .45-caliber pistol and a .22 rifle with a scope from Williams' silver Dodge Ram 1500 truck, parked 50 feet from the front left corner of the Lockheed Martin facility.
Trymonne Williams, 31, of Ridgeland said he and a colleague were working about 15 yards from the plant when they heard "three shots go off." "The bullets ricocheted after hitting a trash can. I said, 'We got to move out of the way,' and I took off running."
Williams, a pump installer for a drilling company in Jackson, ran into a field with co-worker Ricky Thompson, 34, of Jackson. They said they were soon joined by Lockheed Martin employees suddenly exiting the building.
"When it was all over, we got together and said a prayer,'' Williams said.
Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove deplored the incident.
"Mississippi's family grieves today for this senseless tragedy," he said. "My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the lost and the wounded."
Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith said such incidents are rare in Lauderdale County. "We pride ourselves as the safest city in the state with more than 35,000 people," Smith said. "These industries represent more than jobs; to us, they represent family. We will be there for them."
A prayer vigil, led by area ministers, was held in front of Meridian City Hall at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
"This is not the old South," said the Rev. John Jacob, pastor of Grace Church of Collinsville, who like others dismissed reports that Williams' actions are part of a deeper racial divide. "That's not the climate we live in (here)."
He pointed to a line at United Blood Services, which grew to nearly two blocks after the call went out for blood. There were both black and white donors.
Carl Fitzgerald, his wife, Thelma, and their daughter, Lanette Ezell, attended the vigil.
The shooting left Carl Fitzgerald with a double loss. He lost his second cousin, Mickey Fitzgerald and his good friend, the Rev. C.J. Miller. "Charlie Miller was not just a good pastor but (also) a good friend," he said.
Sollie, sheriff since 1996, said the incident is the worst he has seen since a double homicide in south Lauderdale County. "This is not supposed to happen in Lauderdale County," Sollie said. "Everyone is still pretty much in shock."
Staff writers Sylvain Metz and Andy Kanengiser contributed to this report.