HARTFORD, Conn. — The man who went on a shooting rampage at a beer distributor calmly told a 911 operator that it was “a racist place” and that he “handled the problem.”
Omar Thornton, 34, called 911 after shooting 10 co-workers — eight fatally — Tuesday morning at Hartford Distributors Inc.
“You probably want to know the reason why I shot this place up,” he said, his voice steady. “This place is a racist place. They treat me bad over here. They treat all the black employees bad over here, too. So I took things in my own hands and handled the problem. I wish I could have got more of the people.”
Connecticut State Police released the audio of the call Thursday, the same day company and union officials rebutted suggestions that the company had ignored Thornton’s complaints of racism.
