An employee opened fire at an Aurora manufacturing plant Friday shortly after a meeting in which he was terminated from his job, authorities said.
Police said the suspected gunman, Gary Martin, 45, was in illegal possession of the gun used in the attack that killed five other employees and wounded five police officers. Martin was killed in a shootout with police.
The victims were identified as Clayton Parks, 32, of Elgin; Trevor Wehner, 21, of Sheridan, Ill., who had been living in DeKalb and attending Northern Illinois University; Russell Beyer, 47, of Yorkville; Vicente Juarez, 54, of Oswego; and Josh Pinkard, 37 of Oswego. All five were employed by Henry Pratt Co.
Aurora police Chief Kristen Ziman said the officers wounded while responding to the scene of the shooting were recovering and another victim was being treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
Martin had six prior arrests by Aurora police, including for domestic violence-related issues, and also had a felony conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi in 1995, authorities said.
Here are the latest developments:
9:25 a.m. Sunday
The Kane County Coroner’s announced the results of autopsies for three of the shooting victims: Russell Beyer, 47, of Yorkville; Trevor Wehner, 21, of DeKalb; and Clayton Parks, 32, of Elgin. The preliminary cause of death for each victim was listed as multiple gunshot wounds. Toxicology results are pending for each man.
Autopsies on the remaining victims were due to continue Sunday.
7:16 p.m. Saturday
Gary Martin should have given up his .40-caliber Smith & Wesson in 2014 when the Illinois State Police finally found out about a decades-old felony conviction, authorities said Saturday.
5:05 p.m. Saturday
The Kane County coroner’s office said the gunman, identified by police as Gary Martin, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting at a manufacturing facility in Aurora. An autopsy found the preliminary cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, pending toxicology results, according to a statement from the coroner’s office.
3:45 p.m. Saturday
The City of Aurora started a GoFundMe fundraising effort to support those injured and the families of victims who died in a shooting at a manufacturing firm in Aurora.
Vigils have also been planned to honor the victims of Friday’s shooting, according to Facebook event posts.
The Aurora Strong Prayer Vigil is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Sunday at 401 S. Highland Ave. in Aurora. After the vigil, a tribute to the Aurora Police Department will be held at the department’s station, 1200 E. Indian Trail Road.
The community advocacy group Indivisible Aurora plans to hold a vigil 1 p.m. Monday at a location to be determined. The group has also created a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the victim’s families with funeral expenses.
The Highpoint Church plans to hold a prayer service 6:30 p.m. Saturday at their North Aurora Campus at 2301 Tanner Road. A prayer service at The Big Life Community Church is planned for 5 p.m. Sunday at 197 E. Washington St. in Oswego.
3:15 p.m. Saturday
A relative at the Oswego home of plant manager Josh Pinkard politely declined to answer questions.
News outlets in Holly Pond, Ala., the small town where Pinkard reported his death and Hopewell Baptist Church in Hanceville posted this on its Facebook Page:
“Josh Pinkard, nephew of Kathy Howard, was one of six killed today in the Aurora, Illinois, workplace shooting. We don’t know anything more at this time. Kathy asks for prayers for all of her families: Pinkard, Chambers and Howard.
“Please also remember in your prayers all families, victims, injured, employees and first responders involved today.”
1:04 p.m. Saturday
A local Aurora flower shop a few blocks away from Henry Pratt Co. will be donating flowers to the five victims’ families.
Colleen Hardekopf, owner of The Flower Basket, said she’s been a florist in Aurora all her life, and was amazed when she and her staff went on lockdown Friday afternoon.
“This is devastating to us, and being so close, this is the least we can do for them,” Hardekopf said. “I’m just devastated this could happen in our area.”
The staff went into lockdown after hearing reports of an active shooter on a police scanner.
“I told our drivers who were out delivering to not come back to the store and just go home,” Hardekopf said. “You never think it’s going to happen here, and I never would have thought that in a million years. This is a wake-up call for all of us.”
Hardekopf said all families should contact the shop for free flowers, like casket sprays, for funerals in the upcoming days.
11:47 a.m. Saturday
Martin had six prior arrests in Aurora, most involving traffic stops and domestic violence. He also had a felony conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi in 1995, authorities said.
Martin was issued an Illinois firearm owner’s identification card in January 2014. Two months later, he purchased a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun from an Aurora dealer.
He applied for a concealed carry permit shortly after purchasing the gun, according to police. During the fingerprinting and background process, Martin’s conviction in Mississippi was discovered and his concealed carry application was denied. He had also had his firearm license revoked by the Illinois State Police, Ziman said.
Given his FOID card had been revoked, police are now investigating how Martin still had a gun in his possession. That illegal gun was the one used in Friday’s shooting. — Stacy St. Clair
11:25 a.m. Saturday
It was a very short gunfight and then it was over, Lt. Rick Robertson said. Police are currently unable to determine if the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. There was no verbal conversation between the officers and Martin at that time. There were a few employees who were sheltered in place.
Ziman said she knows Martin was called in. She says he might have been speculative of what might happen, since he was already armed with a firearm. She is unsure what was communicated to him beforehand. Several were shot in the room with him, and there was another employee who was shot on another level of the building.
Police are still in the process of interviewing witnesses and have another 40 witnesses they still need to speak with. — Megan Jones
11:15 a.m. Saturday
At the news conference, Ziman said according to a witness at the scene, Martin reported to work and during a meeting he was terminated. He opened fire right after the termination. Several people involved at that meeting are the ones deceased, police said.
He was in illegal possession of a firearm. He was issued a FOID card in January 2014 and applied to purchase a handgun from a local gun dealer in Aurora in March 2014. In March 16, 2014, the shooter applied for a concealed carry permit, and it was discovered he had a felony conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi. He was convicted on Aug. 3, 1995. Once this felony conviction was discovered, Martin’s concealed carry permit was rejected, and his FOID card was revoked by Illinois State Police. — Megan Jones
11 a.m. Saturday
Deputy Chief Keefe Jackson said eight SWAT teams were used from federal to the local level, with 25 to 35 agencies responding and 200 to 300 police officers.
According to police, here is a breakdown of the timeline:
1:24 p.m.: The original call came in, and officers were dispatched to an active shooter call.
1:24 p.m.: A caller said shots were being fired after an employee was being terminated.
1:28 p.m.: First officers responded to the scene.
1:28 p.m.: A determination was made to activate the special response team.
1:30 p.m.: A first report was made of an officer being shot.
1:31 p.m.: It was indicated that there were four victims upstairs and a victim in the bay area. All victims were determined to be deceased at that time.
1:32 p.m.: More shots were fired, and a second officer was reported being shot.
1:34 p.m.: A third officer was reported shot.
1:35 p.m.: A fourth officer was reported shot.
1:37-1:52 p.m.: Personnel was responding to extract some of the employees and victims inside the building.
1:52 until 2:58 p.m.: No contact was made with the offender.
2:58 p.m.: Officers indicated contact was made and confirmation was made that Martin was killed.
— Megan Jones
10:30 a.m. Saturday
Police and officials released a statement about the mass shooting Friday at an Aurora plant before holding a news conference Saturday:
We would like to begin this morning by providing an update on the condition of our officers who are still being treated for their injuries related to yesterday’s shooting incident. All five of our officers are recovering and are under the care of physicians in the Chicago metro area:
Officer 1 – Male, 39 years of age with 13 years of service here at the Aurora Police Department. This officer suffered a gunshot wound to his lower extremity and is in stable condition at a local hospital.
Officer 2 – Male, 52 years of age with 25 years of service at the Aurora Police Department. This officer suffered a gunshot wound to his upper extremity. He was treated and will be released from the hospital later this morning.
Officer 3 – Male, 52 years old with 24 years of service here at the Aurora Police Department, suffered a gunshot wound to the lower extremity. He was treated and released from a local hospital yesterday.
Officer 4, – Male, 53 years of age with 30 years of service. This officer also suffered a gunshot wound to the lower extremity and was treated at an area hospital.
Officer 5, – Male, 24 years of age with just under 4 years of service. This officer suffered a series of shrapnel wounds to the upper extremity. He is currently being treated and is in stable condition at a local hospital.
Officer 6, – Male, 23 years of age with 2 years of police service here at the Aurora Police Department suffered a minor injury while responding to the incident. This injury was not related to gunfire.
All of the officers’ injuries are considered non-life-threatening.
We would also like to provide limited information regarding the employees of Henry Pratt who were victims of yesterday’s shooting.
Clayton Parks, of Elgin, Illinois. Mr. Parks was the Human Resources Manager at Henry Pratt.
Trevor Wehner, of Dekalb, Illinois. Mr. Wehner was a Human Resources Intern at Henry Pratt and a student at Northern Illinois University.
Russell Beyer, of Yorkville, Illinois. Mr. Beyer was a Mold Operator at Henry Pratt.
Vicente Juarez of Oswego, Illinois. Mr. Juarez was a Stock Room Attendant and Fork Lift Operator at Henry Pratt.
Josh Pinkard, of Oswego, Illinois. Mr. Pinkard was the Plant Manager for Henry Pratt.
Another shooting victim, a male employee of Henry Pratt, was treated at an area hospital for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds sustained during the shooting incident.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the deceased victims were located in the same general area of the Henry Pratt facility. While this investigation is ongoing, we believe that there was only one assailant.
Here is what we know so far about the shooter, Gary Montez Martin.
45 years of age
Lived in the 1900 block of Selmarten Road, Aurora
Six prior arrests by the Aurora Police Department, including arrests for traffic and domestic violence related issues. Last arrest in Aurora in 2008 for violating an order of protection.
Last arrest in 2017 by the Oswego, Illinois Police Department for Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Damage to Property.
Regarding the weapon used during the shooting event:
January, 2014 the shooter was issued an Illinois Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card.
On March 6, 2014, the shooter applied to purchase a handgun from a local gun dealer in Aurora.
On March 11, 2014, the shooter took possession of a Smith and Wesson 40 caliber handgun from that same local dealer.
On March 16, 2014, the shooter applied for a concealed carry permit at an unknown location. During the fingerprinting and background process it was discovered that he had a felony conviction for Aggravated Assault out of Mississippi. The date of that conviction was August 3, 1995. (It should be noted that this conviction would not necessarily have shown up on a criminal background check conducted for a FOID card)
Once this felony conviction was discovered, the offender’s concealed carry permit was rejected, and his FOID card was revoked by the Illinois State Police.
Check back for updates.
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