Worker kills six at warehouse

CHICAGO -- A man fired from an auto parts warehouse six months ago came back with a gun Wednesday and killed six people in a rampage through a maze of engine blocks and 55-gallon drums before being shot to death by police.

The dead included two brothers who owned the business and one of their sons along with three other co-workers.

Only one of the employees inside the building at the time of the shooting survived -- he was inexplicably tied up by gunman Salvador Tapia but escaped to call 911, police said.

"There's really only one way out and one way in," acting police superintendent Phil Cline said. "Once he's inside and by that front door, he's got them cornered."

Tapia, 36, died after a gun battle he waged with police inside and outside of the building, hiding behind a box inside the business as he fired rounds from his semiautomatic pistol, authorities said.

"He got up, he had the gun, they ordered him to drop the gun, he refused to drop the gun. That's when the officer shot him," Cline said.

Tapia lost his job at Windy City Core Supply Inc. about six months ago for causing trouble at work and frequently showing up late or not at all, Cline said. He said Tapia had made threatening calls to the owners since being fired.

Cline said Tapia had been arrested 12 times, dating back to a conviction in 1989 for unlawful use of a weapon and multiple domestic battery and aggravated assault arrests.

Four of the warehouse workers died at the scene. Tapia and two others were taken to hospitals and died there. Based on the escaped worker's account, police believe all the victims were shot before authorities arrived.

Police said they received calls about shots fired shortly after 8:30 a.m. The worker who had escaped ran across the street to the Dox Grill looking for a phone, where waitress Pamela George was working.

Police evacuated all buildings within a block of the warehouse, where old auto parts were refurbished and then sold to mechanics and auto dealers.

"We saw a guy shooting at police officers outside the building and saw people running around like crazy," said Al Martinez, who owns a business a half-block away.

When an assault team entered the building they had trouble maneuvering through all the auto parts. Most of the victims were found in the office, but one was in the warehouse section, Cline said.

Among the victims identified by the Cook County medical examiner's office were brothers and owners Alan Weiner, 50, of Wilmette, and Howard Weiner, 59, of Northbrook. Daniel Weiner, 30, Howard's son, was also killed, officials said.

The other victims were identified as Calvin Ramsey, 44, Robert Taylor, 53, and Juan Valles, 34, all of Chicago.

Taylor had been married more than 20 years with four children and served as the deacon of his church, said his sister, Minnie Taylor.

"He was well loved, well liked," she said. "His smile, his kindnesss, he always had something kind to say."

The incident came nearly two months after Doug Williams shot 14 co-workers, killing six, at a Lockheed Martin aircraft parts plant in Meridian, Miss., before taking his own life.

In the Chicago area, William D. Baker, 66, killed four people and himself at a Navistar International engine plant in suburban Melrose Park in February 2001.