Shooter at Calif. UPS facility kills 3, himself
SAN FRANCISCO — A UPS employee opened fire at one of the company’s package delivery facilities in San Francisco on Wednesday, killing three co-workers and then himself as officers closed in and workers ran frantically into the streets, police and company officials said.
Two other United Parcel Service employees were wounded in the shooting that prompted a massive police response in an industrial neighborhood, Assistant Police Chief Toney Chaplin told reporters.
Officials, UPS employees and neighbors described chaos and panic as shots rang out during a morning meeting before drivers were sent on their delivery routes.
“They were all in rapid succession,” Raymond Deng, a 30-year-old tech worker who lives across the street from the warehouse, said of the gunshots. “Itwas like tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat.”
Police arrived in minutes. Officers found wounded victims and pulled them to safety and then confronted the gunman, who was armed with an “assault pistol,” Chaplin said.
“The suspect put the gun to his head and discharged the weapon,” Chaplin said, adding that police have not determined a motive.
Mayor Ed Lee said authorities saved lives with a “very proactive response.”
“It could have been worse,” he said, “lives were saved today.”
It was not immediately clear how many employees were at the facility, but UPS said the warehouse employs 350 people. The shooter and all the victims were employees, UPS said in a statement.
UPS driver Marvin Calderon told KNTV that he recognized the gunman as a fellowemployee, but he did not know him personally.
“I just started running out like crazy, like I’ve never run before,” Calderon said.