At Least 3 Dead In Hartford distributors Shooting

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Nine people are dead in a workplace shooting at a family-owned beer and wine wholesaler in Manchester, according to state police.

Sources said Omar S. Thornton, 34, was a driver for Hartford Distributors and was described by a Teamsters Union official as a recent hire and a "disciplinary problem."

"The union was bringing him in to meet with the company to remedy the problem," said John Hollis, a Teamsters official. "He started shooting."

Thornton shot a number of people and then shot himself with a .223 caliber semiautomatic rifle as police approached and is dead, sources said. Two people were shot outside the building and five were shot inside, police sources said.

Hollis declined to describe the nature of the disciplinary problem, and he said he wasn't certain if the meeting had taken place when the shooting started. A law enforcement source said Thornton had been suspected of stealing from the business.

Joanne Hannah, who lives in the Enfield neighborhood where Thornton lived until about a month ago, said her daughter Kristi had dated Thornton for eight years. Thornton, who is black, had complained about being racially harassed at work. Thornton brought his complaints to his superiors, who did nothing about it, she said her daughter told her.

Steve Hollander, a member of the family that founded and owns the company, is one of the wounded, a police source said. He was shot in the neck, the source said.

Another shooting victim was identified as Bryan Cirigliano, 51, of Newington, by a man at Hartford Hospital who said he was Cirigliano's brother. Bryan Cirigliano is the president of the Teamsters Local 1035 that represents drivers at Hartford Distributors.

Another victim was identified as Victor James, who died at Hartford Hospital, officials said.

Gloria Wilson, 86, said her son Victor would have turned 60 on Aug. 30.

James, of Windsor, had two adult daughters and four grandchildren.

Wilson said she had already heard about the shootings when her other son called with the news that Victor James was dead.

"I just got praying he wasn't one of them, and he was," she said.

"There wasn't a better family man," Wilson said.

James was planning to retire from Hartford Distributors this year after working for the company as a truck driver for 30 years. He planned to work around his home and tinker with an old car he had, Wilson said.

James grew up in Providence and Cranston, R.I. He had one brother, Robert James, Wilson said.

"He loved his children and his grandchildren," she said. "He'd take the grandchildren out for movies. He devoted his weekends to them."

Two school buses were brought in to transport employees away about 9:30 a.m. They were brought to Manchester High School, where family members gathered.

The shooting occurred shortly before 7:30 a.m. in a facility of the beer and wine distribution company, one of the state's largest. At the time, there were about 35 or 40 people in the office and warehouse, said Brett Hollander, the director of marketing for the company.

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[BumperMorgan]

The press has more or less ignored this tragedy. Had the races been switched the media uproar would have been 10 fold to their reporting of this shooting. I can't disagree enough with the virulently racist posts punctuating the comment section of this video. However I'm not surprised by the anger and frustration that many feel, as there is a racial double standard among much of the media, academia and civil rights groups in America. Socio-politics aside; my condolences to the victim's families.

[moneybelt22]

@redlackawanna i live 10 minutes fom this place

fFREE BEER FOR EVERYONE ON YOUTUBE

[knockoutking419]

@nastylefthook1 tells me we need to boot these nigger lovers from r famlies n freinds or beat it out of them

[robi2000]

Omar couldn't handle the fact that his girl was cheating with a white man. The primitive stunted brain type cannot handle such a blow to their fragile weak ego. Racked with guilt about his years of incest with his own daughter, he lashed out at the white man whom he could never be as good as. Shortchanged in the brain , and shortchanged below the belt, this loser was destined to lose in life

[weightSndrumS]

i hope theres a race war because whites own all the gun stores

[k3304]

@LoLifeThug , Omar is an animal who should be buried in a pet cemetary or tossed out like a bag of trash

[nastylefthook1]

this negro was a cornrowed gangster,,,,,he said he hated whites,,but hes tapping that white bitch for pussy,,,,,how come the brother isnt hooked up with a fine young nubian sister,,,,,,,go figure,,,,i thought black was beautiful

[redvdub70]

niggers are animals. Fucking baboons.NAACP=niggers alligators apes coons pigs.

[redvdub70]

@lowlifethugnigger yo momma sucked my 14 inch white Dick last night.you smell funny nigger.

[blanckepi]

@LoLifeThug DON'T TRUST BLACKIE

If this racism shit was for real, the NAACP, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, AG Eric Holder, and President Obama himself all would have gotten involved by now, and Omar would have been awarded a six or seven figure settlement.

The truth is simply that Omar was busted on videotape several times stealing cases of beer, and he could not handle losing his job over this.