Ex-Employee Kills 4, Then Self at Factory

The day before he was to report to prison for stealing from his ex-employer, a gunman with a golf bag full of weapons shot his way through the suburban Chicago plant Monday, killing four people and injuring four others before taking his own life.

The assailant, 66-year-old William D. Baker, was fired in 1994 from Navistar International Corp. after company officials uncovered an internal theft ring. He was indicted along with two other employees in 1999--in part based on the testimony of Navistar employees--for conspiring to steal $195,000 worth of engines and fuel injectors from the plant in Melrose Park, 15 miles west of here.

A forklift driver at the factory for 39 years, Baker pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges and was to begin a five-month sentence today, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Baker had served 90 days of “periodic imprisonment” in 1998 for sexually assaulting a minor and was on probation at the time of the shooting.

Baker was found dead shortly after 10 a.m. in an office at the plant, a .38-caliber snub-nose revolver at his side and an AK-47 assault rifle on a desk nearby. Inside the golf bag were a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a .30-caliber hunting rifle and perhaps hundreds of rounds of ammunition, police said. A man who police believe was Baker’s final victim lay dead a few feet away.

Victims Were Strewn Along Wide Corridor

The other dead and wounded employees, police said, were strewn along a wide corridor inside the sprawling 70-acre complex, where diesel engines are tested.

The company identified two of those slain as Daniel Dorsch, 52, a supervisor in the engine lab; and Robert Wehrheim, 47, a lab technician.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the others killed as Michael Brus, 48, and William Garcia, 44.

Two of the injured were in critical condition late Monday after surgery--one with a bullet wound to the chest, the second with an abdominal wound. Anoher victim was listed in fair condition with a wound to the left arm; the last was treated for a foot wound and released.

Engineer Martin Reutimann, one of 1,400 employees at the facility, was sitting at his desk when he heard shouting, then shooting, shortly before 10 a.m.

“I heard somebody yell: ‘There’s a guy in the center aisle with a gun!’ ” Reutimann recalled.

He thought it was a joke until people began running by. The 24-year-old said he then grabbed his coat and his cell phone--and ran. He heard the first shots as he was dialing 911.

Latest in List of Workplace Massacres

The shooting was the latest in an ever-lengthening list of workplace massacres. Just six weeks ago, at an Internet consulting firm in Wakefield, Mass., software tester Michael McDermott allegedly opened fire, killing seven colleagues at the offices of Edgewater Technology Inc.

In Melrose Park on Monday, Baker arrived at the northwest entrance to the plant around 9:30 a.m., police said. The golf bag slung over his shoulder, he approached a guard, who recognized the former employee.

The doors to the plant are electronically locked, police said, and require an identification card to open. Baker asked the guard to let him in, saying he had something to drop off for a friend.

The guard said she couldn’t allow him inside but would call the friend and have him come to the entrance, Melrose Park Police Chief Vito Scavo said. Baker then poked the .38-caliber Colt Detective Special into the guard’s side and told her to unlock the door.

After she obeyed, Baker shoved her aside, marched into the building and began firing, probably with the AK-47, police said.

“He went south down one lane, made a right, and came back north,” Scavo said.

Gunman Was Player in Theft Conspiracy

Police were uncertain whether Baker was targeting specific individuals or firing at random.

The first 911 call was received at 9:44 a.m., and the first police car arrived just 38 seconds later, Scavo said. More police cars arrived two minutes later.

A few minutes after that, police entered the building, Scavo said. But by then Baker already had fired his final shot.

Police evacuated the building and spent most of the day scouring the complex with bomb-sniffing dogs. Hours after the shooting had stopped, police searching the factory discovered at least two dozen workers hiding beneath desks and in nooks and crannies throughout the building.

Police also searched Baker’s suburban home with bomb-sniffing dogs, although it was unclear late Monday whether they had found anything unusual.

Baker was one of three Navistar employees who were part of a conspiracy to steal dozens of engines and 4,000 fuel injectors from the plant and ship them to out-of-state auto parts dealers, who then would sell them to other, legitimate businesses.

While one of the other Navistar conspirators altered paperwork to hide the theft, it was Baker’s job to drive the forklift, loading the engines and parts onto trucks driven by others in the ring, the indictment said.

In addition to the five-month sentence in a federal prison, Baker had been ordered to pay restitution of $145,500.

Navistar is the second-largest U.S. producer of heavy-duty trucks, which it sells under the International brand. The company, which reported $8.4 billion in sales last year, operates plants in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Brazil, and employs some 17,000 worldwide.

In December, the company reported fourth-quarter profits were down 36%. The firm has announced 1,100 layoffs.