Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 2, 1993 TAG: 9307020168
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO LENGTH: Medium
The gunman walked into the 34th-floor offices of Pettit & Martin with three semiautomatic pistols and began shooting, police spokesman Dave Ambrose said.
The gunman, who wasn't immediately identified, apparently shot himself to death as police searching the building closed in, Ambrose said.
Seven people were found dead inside the building, including the gunman, said San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan at a news conference. Two others died at San Francisco General Hospital.
The man put a gun under his chin and pulled the trigger as police climbed toward him up the stairwell, Jordan said.
"At this point, we think the individual must have known someone, I think he was going after someone on the 34th floor at the Pettit & Martin law firm," Jordan said.
Jordan said authorities didn't have a motive but believed the shooting spree may have been "prearranged" because the gunman was so heavily armed.
"Not only did he have the weapons, but he also had a large cache of ammunition in a black canvas bag . . . hundreds and hundreds of rounds in the bag. So, he was there . . . with the intent to shoot someone," Jordan said.
The gunman, described by police as a heavyset, middle-age white male, had been at the office earlier in the day for a deposition, said Wayne Jeffries, a lawyer at the firm, which specializes in corporate litigation.
One of the wounded victims was court reporter Deanne Eaves, 33, said her husband, Roy Eaves. She told him she was on the 34th floor taking a deposition when the gunman burst in and started firing. She ducked behind a chair, she said, but couldn't avoid being hit in the arm.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB