Gunman kills 3 coworkers, wounds 5 at ABB plant

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - The first 911 call was from a woman who said someone was firing shots inside a factory. Other calls gave conflicting descriptions of the mayhem.

"They are still shooting," a police dispatcher called over the department radio at 6:34 a.m. January 7. A few employees sought refuge in the snowy cold of the windswept roof. A caller said he was watching a gunman blast away.

When police entered ABB Inc., at 4350 Semple Avenue, the first body they found eventually was confirmed as that of a lone gunman, Timothy G. Hendron, 51, of Webster Groves. He was a longtime production worker there.

Police said he armed himself with what they described as an assault rifle, shotgun and pistol and, upon arriving at 6:30 a.m., quickly shot eight co-workers — killing three — before shooting himself.

Verifying that he was the killer took several hours. Until heavily armed tactical teams could retrieve workers in a methodical sweep of the 200,000-square-foot factory, panicked employees kept using their cell phones to call police or relatives.

At 7:15 a.m., one man called from a supervisor's office, saying he had been wounded in the torso, leg and arm and was afraid to leave the office. He said he was with another victim, who was not moving or breathing.

Twenty minutes later, employees hiding on the roof called to ask whether it was safe to come down. No, said officers. At 7:45 a.m., two employees called to say they were hiding in a room accessible only by ladders and couldn't hear over the machinery noise what was going on.

Two bodies were found in the parking lot. Two more, including Hendron's, were inside the factory, a maker of electric transformers just north of the old General Motors plant at Interstate 70 and Union Boulevard.

Police shut down I-70 during early efforts to learn the extent of the crime, and whether the gunman may have fled. Before confirming that Hendron had killed himself — or even where he was — police broadcast his name after a supervisor inside the building identified the gunman.

Police searched for almost four hours before investigators determined it all had ended quickly. Officers escorted the liberated employees to waiting Metro buses to keep them warm — and keep them around for interviews.

City officers were assisted by Missouri Highway Patrol troopers, St. Louis County police and FBI agents. The Fire Department sent 10 ambulances and other equipment to the scene.

A detailed search of the sprawling complex lasted into the evening.

ABB issued an official statement, which reads:

“The tragic events that took place yesterday at ABB’s St. Louis facility came as a shock to everyone in the ABB family. Today we mourn the loss of three of our colleagues. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends of Terry Mabry, Cory Wilson and Carlton Carter. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the five other employees who were wounded in the attack. “The St. Louis plant will remain closed for the time being while the police complete their investigation. ABB’s main focus now is on the well being of our employees. Counseling is being provided today for all of our St. Louis employees and their families, and we have set up a hotline for employees to call for updates and information. We continue to support local authorities in the investigation and are monitoring the situation closely.” Joe Hogan, ABB's CEO, said: “I am deeply saddened by this news, and I hope you will all join me in expressing the greatest sympathy to those who have been touched by this tragedy. We are making certain our employees get the support they need. However, this is not only a loss felt in the U.S. I hope our people in St. Louis are comforted by knowing that the thoughts of thousands of ABB colleagues all around the world are with them at this most difficult time.”

Friends described the stocky, balding Hendron as a friendly, laid-back, beer-drinking guy. But a neighbor said Hendron once grumbled that some supervisors were picking on him.

He was one of four named plaintiffs whose lawsuit against ABB, alleging it charged excessive fees for the employee 401(k) retirement plan, went to trial two days before the shooting in federal court in Kansas City.

Police Chief Dan Isom declined to discuss why Hendron would go to work heavily armed and start blasting away.

"We are not really sure what was the motive," Isom said in a press conference. "It will take a long time for us to put together the pieces of what happened."

ABB employs about 270 people here, and about 50 were at the plant at the time of the shootings. The home office of the international corporation is in Zurich, Switzerland.

Police have confirmed the identities of each of those who died in the shooting rampage. They are:

• Carlton J. Carter, 57, of the 6000 block of Henner in St. Louis. He was found dead outside the factory, shot once in the head.

• Terry Mabry, 55, of Moscow Mills, Mo. Mabry was found dead outside the factory. Mabry had been shot twice — in the leg and head.

• Cory Wilson, 27, of Collinsville. He was found dead inside the factory. He had been shot in the shoulder and head.

• Timothy G. Hendron, the suspect. Hendron, 51, was a longtime employee of ABB who lived in Webster Groves. He shot himself to death, police say. He shot himself under the chin. He was found dead inside the building.

The police chief said investigators weren't sure yet if the victims were targeted. "It'll take further investigation to find out," Isom said.

Rene Bonner, a friend of Carter's, said Carlton Carter bought a home about five years ago one mile from the factory. He typically arrived at work each day about 6:15 a.m. for his early shift.

Said Mary Kelly, a neighbor: "We're going to miss him greatly. My heart is hurting."

Carter recently marked his 25th year at ABB, according to Carter's younger brother, Alan Carter.

Alan Carter sensed something was wrong when he was unable to reach his brother by phone for hours after the shootings.

Alan Carter said his brother never mentioned any trouble at work or any problems with Hendron.

But Carter did confide to friends recently that Hendron had been different at work lately. "He said something to friends that the guy (Hendron) was strange, acting strange lately," Alan Carter said.

Alan Carter said he had no indication that his brother feared for his own safety at work. "He liked his job," Alan Carter said. "He worked on the line," installing wiring on the transformers.

"It's a tragedy that you wish didn't happen but it happens," Alan Carter said. "We're all speechless right now."

Terry Mabry was "a very good neighbor" who had helped clear the roads in his quiet subdivision near Moscow Mills, said a neighbor, Ed Wollbrinck III. Wollbrinck said Mabry and his wife were outgoing. She was an avid walker, he said, and her husband awoke early to drive to his job. Wollbrinck said Mabry was an avid hunter.

Relatives of Mabry could not be reached.

Cory Wilson, a supervisor at ABB, had been a standout linebacker for the football teams at Collinsville High School and McKendree University, in Lebanon, coaches said. He worked last season as a volunteer coach with the Collinsville Kahoks.

John Blaylock, who was Wilson's high school defensive coordinator during late 1990s, said he was a leader when he played, and brought that talent to the current team. By coincidence, Blaylock is a mechanical contractor who serves the ABB plant. He also was a fellow volunteer coach for the Kahoks.

"He was a pretty good judge of what buttons to press and how to push a kid forward," Blaylock said of Wilson. "He had a very good sense of what each kid needed to be motivated."

Five others were wounded. Police said two of the wounded, 55 and 51, were men who are hospitalized in critical condition. Two more, a 56-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman, were in fair condition. The fifth wounded person, a 52-year-old man, was treated and released.

Hendron, the shooter, lived at 307 Dobbin Road, in the Webster Downs subdivision, off South Rock Hill near Watson Road. The 1950s brick-and-siding ranch home backs up to Southwest Park and is visible from the Hawken House, an antebellum home and museum on Rock Hill.

He lived there with his wife, Kate, and a grown son, Robert, by a previous marriage. A man who answered the door at the home declined to talk to reporters. Webster Groves police said they had never responded to any call at the home.

Later, a Clayton man who is a brother-in-law of Hendron's, said only: "It's really sad. It's just really sad."