Panicked UPS workers fled gunfire
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A UPS employee who had recently filed a grievance opened fire Wednesday inside one of the company’s San Francisco packing facilities, killing three co-workers before fatally shooting himself as employees fled frantically into the streets shouting “shooter!,” authorities and witnesses said.
The gunman, Jimmy Lam, filed the grievance in March complaining that he was working excessive overtime, Joseph Cilia, an official with a Teamsters Union local that represents UPS workers in San Francisco, told The Associated Press.
Still, Cilia said Lam wasn’t angry, and he could not understand why he would open fire on fellow drivers at a morning meeting. Lam appeared to target the three drivers who died, chasing at least one of them out of the building, Cilia said. Cilia said he spoke to witnesses who had been in the meeting of UPS drivers.
“I never knew Jimmy to not get along with people,” Cilia said. “Jimmy wasn’t a big complainer.”
Two other UPS employees were wounded, but Cilia said both were released from the hospital.
Amid a barrage of gunfire, some workers sought refuge on the roof of the four-story facility, while others ran outside and pounded on the windows of a public bus, witnesses said.
“They were screaming, ‘Go! Go! Go!’” said Jessica Franklin, 30, who was riding to work when the bus made a regular stop in front of the UPS facility. “As they got on the bus, they were all ducking.”
The shooting that prompted a massive police response in one of the city’s industrial neighborhoods, about two miles from downtown San Francisco, Assistant Police Chief Toney Chaplin told reporters.
UPS spokesman Steve Gaut said the shooter was a company employee. A San Francisco Police Department official identified him as Jimmy Lam of San Francisco but had no immediate details on his background, noting the name is common in the San Francisco Bay Area and finding information required significant record searches.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Officials, UPS employees and witnesses described chaos as shots rang out during a morning meeting before drivers were sent on their delivery routes.
Police have not yet released victims’ names but families and friends identified one of the people killed as 46-year-old Mike Lefiti, a UPS driver.
Lefiti’s cousin, Mack Toia, told KGO-TV he was at the UPS facility waiting to pick up Lefiti when he heard shots. He left his van and saw his cousin sprawled on concrete behind a gate, Toia said.
“The police officers were right on the scene just like that. I got to touch him, but I couldn’t hug him,” Toia said. “They just pushed me away because they were trying to resuscitate him.”
Toia said he was able to tell Lefiti he loved him.
Co-worker Isaiah Miggins said he saw Lefiti, known as “Big Mike,” as he arrived for work just before 9 a.m., a few minutes before the shooting started. “He was a joyful man. Always happy,” Miggins said.
On social media, heartbroken family members of Lefiti recalled him as a warm-spirited man devoted to his children and family. A photo on his Facebook page shows Lefiti in his brown UPS uniform holding a trophy.