Posted on 12/16/2003 7:39:23 AM PST by pabianice
Shootings always surprise
People never expect eruption of violence
WORCESTER, MA --Here are some things we can count on when an unexpected act of violence breaks out in our back yard:
The assailant is invariably described by those who know him as a nice, mild-mannered guy who would never be capable of doing such a thing.
Witnesses are always shocked - absolutely shocked - because they watch such violence on television but never expect to see it themselves.
"My God," an employee of Lowe's was telling me yesterday, two hours after a gunman opened fire inside the sprawling home improvement warehouse and shot two people. "Everyone here is absolutely shocked. You see stuff like this on television all the time, but you never expect it in your back yard."
In Spencer, meanwhile, David Anderson was reacting to news that a man he knows - his daughter's brother-in-law - allegedly drove to Lowe's in his Chevy pickup truck and shot two people with a semi-automatic handgun.
"He always seemed very nice and polite and mild-mannered," said Mr. Anderson of the man who allegedly compiled a hit list of people to kill. "This is completely out of character, to say the least. But who really knows why someone would do something like this?"
Cliches are cliches for a reason - they're steeped in truth. No one expects to see a bloodied shooting victim stagger into the frame of a department store security camera in broad daylight. But such a video was shown to police yesterday as they searched frantically for Mark Lebreton of Auburn, alleged shooter and widely considered nice guy, who was described as "extremely dangerous" last night by Auburn Police Chief William E. Stone.
"We believe him to be very, very dangerous," Chief Stone said. "He said he'd kill any police officer who stopped him."
Chief Stone said Auburn police were alerted moments before the shooting by Mr. Lebreton's brother, Oxford police Officer Kevin Lebreton, who reported that his 38-year-old brother was armed and suicidal. As police began to respond to that report, they heard on the police scanner that Worcester police were rushing to a shooting at Lowe's that involved a white pickup truck. Chief Stone said police were aware that Mr. Lebreton drove such a truck; they went to his home on Boyce Street, blocked off the street and brought his distraught wife to police headquarters.
According to Lowe's employees, Mr. Lebreton drove to the store shortly after 4 p.m. and could be seen on the security camera entering through the lumber area. He was dressed in jeans, snow boots and a knit cap and was wielding a handgun. He allegedly walked into the commercial sales area and confronted Steve Collins, a plumber and subcontractor for Lowe's, who reportedly had done some work for Mr. Lebreton, a contractor who owns Lebreton & Son. The men engaged in a heated argument because Mr. Collins reportedly wanted to end their business relationship.
Four people, all employees, witnessed all or part of the shooting. The store's surveillance film shows one of the victims, a young employee named Jim Walling, stagger into view and fall to the floor with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Seconds later, Mr. Collins is seen holding his neck and then falling in front of a cash register. Mr. Lebreton then allegedly walked calmly from the store and drove off in his truck while shocked customers screamed and headed for the exits.
"If you didn't know that two people had just been shot, you'd never know from watching him," an employee said. "He was very calm and almost nonchalant." Mr. Lebreton also reportedly had made out a "hit list" that contained several names, but it was not clear last night whether Mr. Collins was on the list.
Mr. Walling is expected to survive his injury. Mr. Collins was in critical condition last night. Eight shots in all were fired by the assailant, in full view of customers and staff, 10 days before Christmas, in a store that sells faucet washers and lightbulbs and two-by-fours.
"Everyone here is very jumpy," the Lowe's employee said. "This happened almost two hours ago, and my heart is still pounding right now."
As police continued their search for Mr. Lebreton last night, those who know him said they couldn't reconcile the violent incident with the good-looking, friendly contractor who rarely raised his voice and seemed to enjoy his work.
Mr. Anderson said Mr. Lebreton, along with Mr. Lebreton's brother, Brian, helped him build a garage for his Spencer home a little more than a year ago.
"He did an excellent job, and you could tell he knew what he was doing," Mr. Anderson said. "He just seemed like a normal, happy fellow. I never even heard him swear, and I never heard anything but good things about him. This is totally out of his character, big time. Why would he do this? This is really a shock."
Chief Stone said Mark Lebreton had a "run-in" several months ago with a neighbor that appeared to be resolved, but was otherwise not known to police. Chief Stone said he met yesterday with Brian Lebreton, who could offer no motive or explanation for his brother's alleged violence.
"He had absolutely no idea why he would do something like this," Chief Stone said.
We've heard it before, haven't we? Someone snaps and everyone is shocked. And somewhere else, perhaps soon, maybe at another store not typically meant to host a hail of bullets, we'll most certainly hear it again. And there's nothing we can do but count on it.
Dianne Williamson can be reached via e-mail at dwilliamson@telegram.com.
It actually happened here. A local pizza chain gave free soft drinks(they don't have any other kind) to all uniformed LEO's, and had one of their stores robbed. The perp made it several blocks before being arrested!
In my state, at least, this is not true. Each case is investigated separately. In at least one of the training classes I have taken the instructor used the example of a BG running away from you while shooting over his shoulder in a shoot/no shoot example. The answer was shoot.
Yes I have. He was as dim as those under him. However, to be fair, the area this Lowes is in does not have a literate population with which to obtain employees. There is a Lowes about 25 miles away that is very well managed. I have e-mailed the Lowes web site with my complaints (as have others) about this one store in So.CA, but to no avail.
Management is what I have done all my life. It's not hard and comes natural to some, but is impossible for others. I don't really think it comes naturally to Lowes. Since they took over "Eagle's", that were profitable and popular, it seems that they just set about to kill the bird that lays the Golden Egg.
Management is what I have done all my life. It's not hard and comes natural to some, but is impossible for others.
You did the right thing by emailing them. It's a d***** shame nothing was done about it. The other issue you were right on. The problem is that the "impossible" managers are still there. Mangement at the local level drives customer relations and cannot be ignored. As an employee of Lowes, I apologize for your experiences.
Back to the real world of FR. :>)
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