I almost witnessed a shooting

Today was an unfortunate day.

On my way to work, I was passed by 2 police Suburbans careening down the road, clearly to some important matter. As I approached the intersection for my turn, I saw the police had turned towards my work. Before I got quite to the intersection, two patrol cars screamed by from the right branch of the intersection, and a fire truck came in from in front of me. From all different directions, they met and converged to head in the same direction: the direction I was going.

I was curious, no doubt, but nothing to really raise my suspicions yet. Then as I was on the road to work, no less than 5 more squad cars came up fast from behind me, sirens ablaze. I moved out of their way, then got back in my lane just in time to see a police truck zooming up from behind and passing me by. Now I knew that whatever was going on had to be a bit more important.

Straight ahead, I could see a conglomerate of cars and flashing lights indicating the focal point of the concern: a building very very near to where my office is. I took a turn early to go around the forming barricade and get to my building on the opposite side of it.

After parking, I got out, grabbed my things, and was on my way inside when I talked to another employee outside. He said that he was at the credit union just before (a building even nearer the scene) and that he had heard at least 15 gun shots when he was outside. He mentioned he had heard something about some guy shooting his girlfriend, or at least some girl there.

Information was trickling in slowly, as everyone in the vicinity was trying to piece together exactly what was happening. Just after a few brief moments talking with the man, a woman from inside the building opened the door and said that we needed to get inside. This seemed to be wise and obvious counsel, which we took. We found out from here that at least 2 people has been shot.

With this reeling in my mind, I went upstairs to my office and started getting things ready for work. As I logged in, I received an email indicating that the building I was in was now in a full lock down. Often, I go and work with some other employees over in a different building, but this meant I was stuck where I was at for now.

As I started to work there, more information began to trickle in about the incident unfolding nearby. A friend of mine sent me a link to listen to the police radio online. I listened as I started working, so I could hear them discussing moving patrol cars and policemen around to assist in a search for the gunman, and where they were securing all of the nearby people (including elementary school children).

About this time, the news reports started coming in with preliminary information. We were on the front page of CNN.com! Apparently, there was a man (originally reported as a woman shooter) who formerly worked for the nearby company. He came in shot his girlfriend and started shooting a bunch of other people. 6 dead, 4 more wounded, the initial report read. The police found several dead bodies, among which was what seemed to be the killer with a self inflicted gunshot wound.

The news reported that the 911 call was issued at 9:26a.m.

...I drove up around 9:36a.m.

A 10 minute gap was all that separated me from possibly driving by (and this would have been very close by) the shooting as it occurred. Interesting thoughts can arise of how things could have been different had I not been detained those extra minutes at home (I planned on arriving about 10-15 minutes earlier than I did). I suspect that nothing would have been different, that I would not have noticed and driven on by to work, only to get the reports later. But still...

There were reports of another possible gunman on the loose, and an eyewitness seeing someone fleeing across a nearby field. This scenario further solidified that fact that we were not leaving the building anytime soon. We received reports that the police looking for the shooter were very hot and thirsty, so we tried to round up some water bottles and snacks to assist, but that was the extent of what we could do, besides turn around and try to get some more work done.

The police radio continued to feed more information about securing the area. I looked out the window and saw several policemen, wearing bulletproof vests and carrying assault rifles, walking through the parking lot, checking cars and searching around for the possible suspect. All seemed to be well in hand, though I wasn't quite sure what to think of the parking lot patrol below. My coworkers and I tried to get work done as we could, but the occasional report and email of information was readily distracting.

Later, I began hearing on the police radio some talk of evacuating people and getting people on buses. I wasn't sure exactly what was being referred to, but I listened on. The nearby community center and some evacuees sheltered there, while a school for the blind right up the road housed the elementary students, waiting for the clear so their parents could retrieve them.

An hour passed, and I caught some discussion of evacuating the building in which I worked. I heard them describe the setup of the parking lot and the way in which they would direct people out. As the hour waned on we saw first another patrol of rifle bearing law enforcement. After some time, we soon saw a steady stream of people exiting our building. Nothing had been officially said or sent to us, but it was apparent that our building was indeed going to be evacuated.

It seemed like the entire building was nearly empty before someone came and gave us the go ahead to leave (our previous instruction being that the building was locked down). So I tried to close up shop as best I could, grabbed my things, and headed down. Exiting the building, there were several military looking personnel inside the lobby, as well as police. Military and police surrounded the building on all sides, ushering us out to our cars and out the parking lot to a designated route away from the scene.

The protective force included a SWAT truck, as well as 3 or 4 mounted policeman (mounties if your from Canada, policemen on horses if you're in the US). They directed us out and on our way. I went out to the other building with coworkers of mine (in a more secure location) where I recounted the happenings where I was. I tried to accomplish a little bit more work before it was recommended that everyone leave for the day.

The final reports seem to indicate that 3 people dies, and several more were injured. This was a tragic event. The police did a fine job securing the many around the scene and ensuring our safety while pursuing the investigation. I happened to be within a close proximity to it, though I don't believe I know anyone involved. Nevertheless, I felt safe, and I am grateful for my safety.

Why did that shooter act the way he did? Who knows.

What would have happened had I come to work when I planned? Who knows.

An odd set of emotions and thoughts surround such an event. I may try to capture them in words later, but this account will suffice for now: unfortunate events happened today.