KIRKWOOD, Mo. (AP) – Ten days after losing a federal lawsuit against this St. Louis suburb he insisted harassed him, a gunman stormed a council meeting, yelled “Shoot the mayor!” and opened fire, killing two police officers and three city officials, authorities and witnesses said.
The gunman, identified as Charles Lee “Cookie” Thornton, critically injured the city’s mayor and wounded a reporter Thursday night before law enforcers fatally shot him.
“The only way that I can put into context that you might understand is that my brother went to war tonight with the people, the government that was putting torment and strife into his life,” Thornton’s brother, Gerald Thornton, told KMOV-TV of St. Louis.