Aurora Police identify victims of Friday workplace shooting

AURORA, Ill. (AP) — Police on Saturday identified the five Henry Pratt Co. employees who were killed Friday by a fired worker at a warehouse in Aurora, Illinois.   The victims are identified as  human resources manager Clayton Parks of Elgin; human resources intern and Northern Illinois University student Trevor Wehner of DeKalb; plant manager Josh Pinkard of Oswego; mold operator Russell Beyer of Yorkville; and stock room attendant and fork lift operator Vicente Juarez of Oswego.   The shooter, 45-year-old Gary Martin, was killed by police responding to the shooting.

At a news conference Saturday, police said Martin was able to buy the gun he used because an initial background check didn't catch that he had a prior felony conviction in Mississippi.  Aurora Police Chief Kristin Ziman said  Martin was issued a firearm owner's identification card in January of 2014 after he passed the initial background check.

She says he bought the Smith and Wesson .40-caliber handgun on March 11, 2014, and that his 1995 felony conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi wasn't flagged until he applied for a concealed carry permit five days later. That application process includes vetting using a more rigorous digital fingerprinting system.   Chief  Ziman said  that among the past charges that Martin faced were domestic battery-related counts.

Ziman says all of the dead were found in the same general area of the facility. A sixth worker was shot but survived and was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

Authorities say Martin also shot and wounded five police officers before officers killed him inside the suburban Chicago warehouse.  Ziman says none of the officers' wounds are considered life-threatening.


Share this article: