'Hi, Is This 911? This is Omar Thornton. The Shooter'

Killer's only regret is that he didn't hit more people
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 5, 2010 4:53 PM CDT
'Hi, Is This 911? This is Omar Thornton. The Shooter'
This June 2010 cell phone photo provided by Kristi Hannah shows her boyfriend Omar Thornton in Niantic, Conn.   (AP Photo/Kristi Hannah)

The gunman who killed eight people at a Connecticut beer distributor calmly called 911 afterward and spoke for 4 minutes before hanging up to kill himself. His only regret was that he didn't shoot more people. As with a previously reported call made to his mother, Omar Thornton told the dispatcher that he "took things into his own hands" because it is a "racist place." But he began with the chillingly ordinary, reports the Hartford Courant: "Hi is this 911? This is Omar Thornton. The shooter over in Manchester."

Among his comments:

  • "Probably want to know the reason why I shot this place up. Basically this is a racist place. They treat me bad over here. They treat all other black people bad over here too, so I just took things into my own hands and handled the problem. I wish I could have gotten more of the people."
  • "I'm not going to kill nobody else here. I just want to tell my story so that you can play it back."
  • "Tell my people that I love them and I gotta go now."
(More mass shootings stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X