Army Sergeant on Rampage Kills 4, Hurts 7

Some people screamed and ducked under tables. Others tried to run out of the restaurant when a man armed with three guns, and shouting about the President and homosexuals in the military, started shooting.

Four people were killed and seven were wounded Friday night before the gunman was shot.

Warrants issued Saturday charge Army Sgt. Kenneth Junior French, 22, with four counts of first-degree murder and six counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

French, who was wounded in the leg and jaw, was listed in stable condition at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. He has refused to talk to police, said Lt. David Pulliam of the Fayetteville Police Department.

French, a native of Zephyrhills, Fla., is stationed at Ft. Bragg, which borders Fayetteville, about 50 miles south of Raleigh.

Pulliam said French apparently had never been to the restaurant before. Police have not found any connection between French and any of the people who work at Luigi’s Italian restaurant, which is about a mile from Ft. Bragg.

“It appears Luigi’s was just randomly chosen,” Pulliam said.

Police Sgt. Mike Ballard said French entered the restaurant about 10 p.m. Friday and opened fire. The gunman had two shotguns and a .22-caliber rifle.

When the shooting ended, the restaurant’s owners, 73-year-old Peter Parrous and his 65-year-old wife, Ethel, were found dead in a booth to the right of the entrance. They appeared to be clutching one another, officials said.

The other victims were 26-year-old Wesley Scott Cover of Fayetteville and 46-year-old James F. Kidd of Wheaton, Ill.

“He was just talking about gays in the military,” waitress Dawn Gabriel said. “He said, ‘I’ll show you, Clinton.’ He was shouting, ‘You think I’m not going to do this.’ He said, ‘I’ll show you about gays in the military.’ ”

President Clinton has ordered that homosexuals be allowed to serve in the military as long as they do not reveal their sexual orientation.

French was shot by an off-duty police officer who was working part time at a nearby grocery store.