2003 Chicago warehouse shooting
Tapia in an undated mugshot
LocationChicago, Illinois, United States
DateAugust 27, 2003 (2003-08-27)
8:30 – 10:00 a.m. (CDT)
Attack type
Mass shooting
WeaponWalther PP .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol
Deaths7 (including the perpetrator)
Injured0
PerpetratorSalvador Tapia

On August 27, 2003, a mass shooting occurred at Windy City Core Supply in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. The perpetrator, 36-year-old Salvador Tapia, had been fired from the company months before the shooting.[1][2]

Background

Windy City Core Supply was a supply warehouse located at 3912 S. Wallace St. in Chicago. The perpetrator, 36-year-old Mexican-born Salvador Tapia, was fired from the company in March 2003 for "ten different reasons", including frequently showing up late to work and often missing entire days. His former boss claimed his attitude changed dramatically for the worse in 2002.[1][3][4]

Tapia had an extensive criminal record, including a 1989 conviction for unlawful use of a weapon, and numerous arrests for threatening and assaulting his family, girlfriend and a neighbor. His driver's license was revoked in 2000 after two years of suspension for an October 1998 drunk driving arrest.[3][5]

After being fired from the warehouse, Tapia would leave "drunken ramblings" on the office answering machine.[3]

Shooting

Tapia returned to his former workplace on the morning of August 27, 2003 and tied employee Eduardo Sanchez to a metal bar at gunpoint, telling him that he would not kill him. He then waited, and fatally shot six employees as they entered through the front door. After Tapia shot himself and smeared his own blood on his face, Sanchez escaped through a back staircase, and ran to a nearby restaurant to call the police.[2][3]

As law enforcement arrived at the scene, Tapia went outside and fired three shots at them, before going back inside the building and then emerging to exchange gunfire a second time. Chicago's Hostage Barricade and Terrorist Team entered the building and navigated the maze of steel drums and crates. Tapia was found hiding and was ordered to drop his weapon, he refused and was shot by officers.[1][4]

Several handwritten notes in Spanish were found in Tapia's pockets, which were described by investigators as "cryptic" and "difficult to decipher". The weapon used in the shooting, a Walther PP .380-caliber handgun, was likely bought illegally or stolen, as it had been originally sold in 1966 and was last recorded during its legal registration in 1983.[3]

Victims

The identities of the victims, not including the perpetrator, were:[6]

  • Alan Weiner, 50
  • Howard Weiner, 59
  • Daniel Weiner, 30
  • Calvin Ramsey, 44
  • Robert Taylor, 53
  • Juan Valles, 35

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Seven die in Chicago warehouse shooting". CNN. Archived from the original on 2003-10-02. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  2. 1 2 "7 Dead In Chicago Rampage". CBS News. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Massacre survivor relives the terror". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  4. 1 2 "Seven dead in Chicago warehouse killings". World Socialist Web Site. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  5. ↑ "Gunman, 6 others slain in rampage". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  6. ↑ "Man Fired by Warehouse Kills 6 of Its 9 Employees". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
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