Houston – The shooter in an apparent murder-suicide at the Johnson Space Center had received a poor job review and feared being fired, police said Saturday.
William Phillips, 60, smuggled a pistol into the space center Friday, shot David Beverly, 62, and barricaded himself with a hostage before shooting himself in a building that houses communications and tracking systems for the space shuttle, officials said.
Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said Phillips bought the snub-nosed .38-caliber March 18, two days after receiving an e-mail citing deficiencies in his job performance, saying that he was going to be reviewed.
A copy of the e-mail was found in Phillips’ lunch bag on the day of the shootings, police Lt. Larry Baimbridge said.
On Friday, Phillips had lunch with Beverly and another man, police said. Then, early that afternoon, Phillips entered Beverly’s office with the gun in his hand and said, “You’re the one who’s going to get me fired,” Baimbridge said.
After Beverly talked with Phillips for several minutes, Phillips shot him twice. He then returned and shot Beverly twice more, officials said.
Phillips duct-taped a woman to a chair, holding her for hours, police said. Officers entered the room and freed her after hearing the gunshot that killed Phillips. The hostage, identified by NASA as Fran Crenshaw, a contract worker with MRI Technologies, worked in the same general area.
Space agency spokesman John Ira Petty said Saturday that NASA was conducting what he called a continuous review of security procedures. Petty would not discuss specifics, saying the shooting was a police matter.
To enter the space center, workers must show an ID badge as they drive past a security guard. The badge gives workers access to designated buildings.
Beverly’s wife, Linda, said her husband of 41 years was an electrical parts specialist who felt working at NASA was his calling.
