LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY “The fight against terrorism is a multidimensional approach and we want to have the community help us.” Acting FBI Assistant Director John Perren, on building relationships inside the Muslim community Article, 2A
3 shot at Wal-Mart; man surrenders
RENO, Nev. - A man who police said was about to be fired from his job surrendered Friday after shooting three co-workers at a Wal-Mart store in Nevada in a possible retaliation attack, authorities said.
The peaceful surrender capped a six-hour standoff during which police negotiators spoke by telephone with 45-year-old John Dennis Gillane as he was holed up in an office in the store.
Gillane was taken into custody and will be charged with three counts of attempted murder, Reno police Lt. Mohammad Rafaqat said.
No shots were fired after the three victims, including a manager, were wounded shortly after 8:30 a.m., police said.
Police had not established a motive for the shooting but suspect it was related to the termination, Reno Deputy Police Chief Mike Whan said.
One victim was treated and released, Rafaqat said. Another was in critical but stable condition, and the third was in serious condition.
“The prognosis is good for all of them,” said Dan Fogleman, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. He provided no further details.
Execution advised in slaying of couple
PENSACOLA, Fla. - A former karate instructor should be put to death for leading a group of men dressed like ninjas to rob and kill a wealthy Florida couple while their nine children slept or cowered nearby, a jury recommended Friday.
The jurors voted 10-2 to recommend that Patrick Gonzalez Jr. be executed for the slayings of Byrd and Melanie Billings.
Their nine adopted children, who are between the ages of 5 and 12, all have disabilities.
“The justice system has worked,” Ashley Markham, the couple’s adult daughter, said in a statement she read to the media. Markham is now raising the couple’s other children.
Under Florida law, the final sentence will be imposed by Judge Nickolas Geeker, who must give the recommendation “great weight.” Geeker will hear from attorneys again at a Dec. 9 hearing, though it could take up to three months for him to issue a final decision.
John Jan Gontarek, Gonzalez’s defense attorney, said he was disappointed but hoped Geeker would not follow the jury’s recommendation.
The jury of 11 women and one man convicted Gonzalez of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of home-invasion robbery late Thursday after half a day of deliberations.
Nicaragua envoy’s death ruled suicide
NEW YORK - A Nicaraguan diplomat found in his bloodied apartment with his throat slashed and dozens of stab wounds last month committed suicide, the medical examiner’s office said Friday.
A driver found Cesar Mercado, 34, in his Bronx home Sept. 22 after he failed to show up for work at Nicaragua’s Permanent Mission. Besides the stab wounds, he had ingested a household cleaner and his throat had been cut.
Mercado’s body was found during the U.N. General Assembly’s annual meeting. The case was investigated as a homicide initially, though detectives noticed some of the wounds appeared to be self-inflicted.
The medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was self-inflicted slash wounds to the neck.
FBI suspects gunman to be Marine
WASHINGTON - After a fourth shooting Thursday night involving military buildings in northern Virginia, the FBI appealed to the public for help locating a possibly disgruntled Marine before something “disastrous” happens.
Authorities announced on Friday that they believe the gunman who fired on the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., Thursday night might also be responsible for three other recent shootings targeting government buildings.
John Perren, acting assistant director of the FBI Washington field office, said at a news conference investigators believe the gunman might be a current or former Marine with a grievance with the Corps.
Perren urged the gunman to contact authorities and said he believes the gunman intentionally has avoided casualties by shooting at night.
The latest shooting comes one day after FBI ballistic tests confirmed that the same weapon was used to shoot at the museum on Oct. 17, the Pentagon on Oct. 19 and an empty Marine Corps recruiting station in Chantilly, Va., earlier this week. The FBI has not said what type of weapon was used.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 10/30/2010