At about 7 a.m. Tuesday, a man strolled to the Hartford Distributors in Manchester, Conn., with a .223 caliber semiautomatic and opened fire, killing nine individuals and leaving a number of others injured. The latest Connecticut shooting spree, as outlined by the New York Times, claimed the lives of truck drivers, union representatives also as a relative of the owner who worked there.
Was racism the reason for the Connecticut shooting?
The suspect in the Connecticut shooting riot worked for Hartford Distributors, a beer and distributor business. Omar S. Thornton, who was 34-years old, was employed as a warehouse driver. Thornton was accused of stealing beer from the company and was asked to resign. He was awaiting a disciplinary listening to. According to ABC News, nevertheless, those close to the alleged gunman believe the Connecticut shooting may have been sparked by racism.
Joanne Hannah, mother of Thornton’s girlfriend of eight years, said Thornton had complained about racial harassment at work, saying he “found a picture of a noose and a racial epithet written on a bathroom wall.” Thornton, who was a black man, had apparently brought the issue up to his supervisors, but no one acknowledged his complaints. “Everybody’s got a breaking point,” stated Hannah.
Connecticut shooting and other cases involving disgruntled workers
The Hartford Distribution Connecticut shooting spree is the nation’s deadliest rampage since the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting that took place last November, an incident that also involved a disgruntled worker. A military psychiatrist entered one of the largest military bases within the United States and killed 13 people and left 30 others wounded.
Twenty four hours later on Friday Nov. 6, gunman Jason Rodriguez entered the offices of Reynolds Smith and Hills in Orlando, Fla., and shot six people and left one individual dead. He was a previous employee of the firm, though he was fired two years prior to the incident. Rodriguez has since then filed for bankruptcy and began working for Subway. When asked why he committed such a terrible crime, according to CNN, Rodriguez said, “Because they left me to rot.”
Find more info on this subject
ABC News
abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local and id=7589506
