The Link to the story here

Gunman Kills 7 Workers at Mass. High-Tech Office ---------------------------------------------------

Tuesday December 26 1:09 PM ET

WAKEFIELD, Mass. (Reuters) - At least seven people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the corporate headquarters of Edgewater Technology, an Internet consulting firm based in Wakefield, Mass., on Tuesday, according to local television reports.

``The gunman went postal,'' one witness told reporters as police continued their search of the three-story brick office complex about 30 minutes north of Boston.

Emergency medical personnel told reporters that seven people were fatally shot in the rampage that began about noon EST.

Heavily armed police wearing bullet-proof vests were conducting a room-to-room search of the office complex. Police said they had taken one man, described only as in his 40s, into custody.

A spokesman for Edgewater said the software consulting company had about 30-to-40 people at the Wakefield location.

The company is in the process of moving its headquarters from Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Wakefield, spokesman Kevin Carvin said.

He said company executives and a skeleton crew of workers remained at the company's Fayetteville office, which was closed due to an ice storm.

``I am totally unaware of that,'' said Carvin when asked about the shooting.

-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), December 26, 2000

Answers

Report: Office Shooting - Seven Killed, According to Local Reports

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/shooting001226.html

-- (new@news.now), December 26, 2000.

How can this be? Massachusetts has the toughest anti-gun laws in the country.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), December 26, 2000.

Another "sleeper" awakens!

-- (escapee@from.slEZ), December 26, 2000.

I'm wondering if it's somebody who lost a lot of money playing the Nasdaq.

-- ($@$.$), December 26, 2000.

I just checked the Yahoo financial site for Edgewater Technology. Look at the message board---some pretty sick stuff.

EDGEWATER TECHNOLOGY

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), December 26, 2000.

There are a lot of rude 'n crude people on that message board. It's amazing what people will say when they think they're posting anonymously.

http://messages.yahoo.com/?action=q&board=EDGW

-- ($@$.$), December 26, 2000.

"The gunman went dotcom". There'll be more tragedies as the bubble continues to burst.

-- John Littmann (littmannj@aol.com), December 26, 2000.

It was an employee.

http://www.newsday.com/ap/topnews/ap595.htm

12/26/2000

7 Die in Mass. Office Shooting

by THEO EMERY

Associated Press Writer

WAKEFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- A heavily armed employee opened fire in the offices of a computer consulting company Tuesday, killing seven people before being wrestled to the ground by police, authorities said.

The gunman, who was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, was sitting in the lobby of the building when police found him and had to subdue him, prosecutors said.

Michael McDermott, 42, was to be arraigned on seven charges of murder, said John McEvoy, a Middlesex County prosecutor.

McDermott, an employee of Edgewater Technologies since March, came to work as usual Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Around 11 a.m., however, he walked systematically through the office building and fatally shot seven people, McEvoy said. McEvoy declined to discuss a motive other than to say it was ''work-related.''

There were no other gunmen and no one else was injured, the prosecutor said.

The shooting took place in the offices of the Internet consulting company, which has its headquarters in Wakefield and offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

Frank Harrington, a contract consultant for the company, said he was in the building when he heard eight to 10 shots.

Nancy Pecjo, a developer with the company, said 30 to 40 employees worked at the Wakefield office. She did not know who had been shot.

''It's a great company, a wonderful company,'' she said, adding that she didn't know of anyone who'd been fired recently or was disgruntled.

''It's a small company, you get to know everybody there,'' she said. ''When something like this happens it's very distressing.''

The shootings took place in the Harvard Mills office complex, a three- story, red brick former factory that houses several companies.

Wakefield is 10 miles north of downtown Boston.

AP-NY-12-26-00 1446EST< 

-- (new@news.now), December 26, 2000.

This item was in the news yesterday. Note the last sentence.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/001221/n21124958.html

Thursday December 21, 6:29 am Eastern Time

Edgewater launches $130 mln tender offer for its shrs

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., Dec 21 (Reuters) - Internet services company Edgewater Technology Inc. (NasdaqNM:EDGW - news) said on Thursday it is offering $8 a share, or $130 million, for about 57 percent of the company's outstanding common stock.

Edgewater, which said its board has approved the offer, said it will expire on Jan. 23, unless it decides to extend the deadline. The offer is for 16.25 million shares of Edgewater common stock.

Edgewater shares closed at $6-1/16 in Wednesday trading on the Nasdaq, below their 52-week high of $12-1/16 and above their yearly low of $4-7/16.

-- (item@from.yesterday), December 26, 2000.

Flint, you said:

>>How can this be? Massachusetts has the toughest anti-gun laws in the country.<<

Maybe we should reserve judgement until some more facts emerge about the guy who did the shooting. He may well be from MA, but news reports indicated that he had only worked at the company since March of this year. Maybe he moved from out of state and brought his weaponry with him? Maybe he purchased his stuff out of state? Maybe he is a long-time MA resident and obtained his weapons legally (are AK-47s legal in MA?)

People as knowledgeable as you Flint should realize that taking one event and extrapalating it to the broad picture is dangerous (even if your comment was intended to be somewhat facetious). I would be interested, though, in seeing if gun-related incidents in MA are statistically different from neighbouring states that do not have as strict gun controls.

-- Johnny Canuck (j_canuck@hotmail.com), December 27, 2000.

Approximately 80 million other gun owners acted responsibly today.

-- Charleton Heston (Lets@keep.it.in.perspective), December 27, 2000.

I read somewhere that the guy was a software tester. That explains it for me. Some testers I know left the thin edge of sanity after checking the 112,000th line of code for the gazillionth time.

One used to scream whenever the Super Secretary wore a red sweather with blue plastic stars in her ears. He'd just stop in the hall if she was walking by and scream. He also used to fall alsleep in his cube and snore, but that's a memory for another day. Last I heard, he was working for some company in Israel.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), December 27, 2000.

Actually, the guy was totally into y2k. He was assured by the writings of one Gary North that the IRS would "go down". Ergo he did not pay any taxes. Now the IRS that did NOT "go down" wanted to garnish his wages.

What's a y2k paranoid to do? Take out his frustrations on his co-workers of course. I think this guys screen name might have been "INVAR".

Be thankful that more of the y2k goofballs didn't do this when their dreams of wanton destruction didn't come true.

-- (sick@bass.tards), December 28, 2000.

I don't understand why people think they need to own a gun. If they have to defend themselves at home everybody has a knive in the kitchen. They kill just as good as a bullet! If no guns were owned by citizens they wouldn't find their way into the hands of criminals. And little children wouldn't endanger themselves when they find them. Wars are over in this country and there is no need to own one. Animal hunting has been on the way out for years because of the extinction aspect. Kill any more deer and bear and we won't be able to enjoy them into this century. Hunters end up killing themselves anyway by the hundreds over the years. This insanity has to stop or we will have more bloodshed in the schools and it is just a matter of time. Look at the many countrys that don't allow gun ownership and you see a murder free country. You don't read about this mayhem in Canada. My family hasn't owned a weapon ever and we have never needed one. And we are an average family in this country.

-- Tanny (missT@newsome.net), December 28, 2000.

Tanny,

Based on the reasoning skills exhibited in your post, I would say that your family is not average.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), December 28, 2000.

J, My family is a normal family in all respects. We don't do the violence thing and we don't own firearms. The police take care of our strongarm needs if we find the circumstances calls for that. Have you ever seen what a bullet can do. Let me tell you it is very different than Starsky and Hutch. Knives are used for many other things, guns are only for killing. In fact you don't even need meat to live. Man did very nicely without it millions of years ago and he can do again! Leave the guns to the armed services. Thats what the words mean!

-- Tanny (MissT@newsome.net), December 28, 2000.

Tanny:

Kill any more deer and bear and we won't be able to enjoy them into this century.

Don't know what planet you come from, but there are more deer now than there were in the 1600's. Just counted 29 in my front field today. In my state, bear are increasing like mad and we have cougars reappearing in our county. The patch of conifers next to my house is full of turkeys. They are escaping the snow storm.

Best Wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), December 28, 2000.

Z, You need to understand that nature is out of balance and that is why you think there're a lot more deer out there. The guns have to be destroyed to get things back in a pattern that is balanced with the giveath and takeath away of nature. The fly is eaten by the snake who is caught by the coyote. The baby deer is eaten by the mountain lion if they haven't been shot and they fight it out with the bear. Nature didn't invent gunpowder so it doesn't belong in the equation.

-- Tanny (MissT@newsome.net), December 28, 2000.

What state is that, Z, the state of confusion?

Your comments would be funny if they weren't so pitiful. How the fuck do you know how many deer were running around this country in the 17th century? Moron.

-- Green Girl (greengirl@green.grrr), December 28, 2000.

Greenatic:

My ancestors were already here; were yours. They counted them. If you haven't read the literature on the subject you shouldn't comment. Deer do much better in fragmented forests with a lot of grassland-forest boundry. That is why they do so well now-a-days.

Having a anon lunatic, unknowledgable troll, sort of makes my day. They kill just as good as a bullet"!

Tanny, if you came at me with a kitchen knife, while I was armed with a gun, what do you think would happen?

I will answer for you in case you are confused: KNIFE LOSES, GUN WINS. You see, a knife does NOT "kill just as good as a bullet"!

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), December 28, 2000.

OK

-- help (unk@help.ok), December 28, 2000.

The Dead Sea Scrolls talk of the making of three kinds of flat bread with the first description of ever using lentils as an ingredient. Carvings and paintings in Egypt suggest that even yeast substitutes such as topi were even used to raise their dough. I know exactly what I'm talking about. Need you have more questions I will give a try as to my ability.

-- Tanny (MissT@newsome.net), December 28, 2000.

Tanny,

Your ignorance of reality must be overwhelming.

Lest anyone construe this as a threat, it is not. I am merely going to try to illustrate to Tanny how devoid of reality her thought processes are by the following example.

Tanny, as soon as someone enters your house with a gun and the intent to kill you, if you do not have a gun, you are dead. Period.

It does not matter if you get on the phone right away with the police. You would be dead long before the police arrived. They may get there quickly enough to apprehend the perpetrator, but you would still be DEAD.

I laughed out loud about you "not giving permission to be there in the first place". Do you think criminals armed with guns ask permission to bust into your home? LOL.

Let me share a cold, hard, truth with you, Tanny. U.S. courts have ruled that it is not the job of the police to keep you from harm. It is YOUR JOB to keep yourself from harm.

Choose a kitchen knife for the task if you so desire. I would suggest something more effective. Specifically, a pump action shotgun for home, and a handgun of at least 9mm in size for away from home. Good luck.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), December 28, 2000.

You will not be in my house in the first place 'J' because it is double bolted locked. Nobody comes in unless they are invited. Your use of bullets is fruitless because once the first one is shot they will smell the blood and it enrages the rest than you got more problems than you can handle. You can't pump your gun fast enough to fend off those that get past. I am right because there're more people in this country that feel the way I do so I don't feel bad about expressing my feelings about this subject. Only a calm voice and kind thoughts soothes a situation over such as these.

-- Tanny (MissT@newsome.net), December 29, 2000.

Tanny,

Not to be a buttinski, but how many deadbolts are on your windows? What if the gunman decides to shoot you through the window FIRST then enter your home, or break a window by your phone and enter? O suppose one could make a hypothetical situation that there's no way out of even if you had a tank in your back yard, but in most situations where a reasonable amount of distance is involved between the attacker and the victim, a gun will trump a knife.

That's why the army and police USE them, and don't just carry hunting knives!

Frank

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), December 29, 2000.

"O suppose" change to "I suppose"

Frank

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), December 29, 2000.

what did i do?

-- cin (cin@cin.cin), December 29, 2000.

Frank, you don't understand about how to control violence do you? I live in midtown in a large city where breakins occur all the time. I have barred windows so I don't need locks on them. Don't be stupid! There're many ways to control violence and I have succeeded in talking to many of my neighbors about the correct ways to handle these type of problems. Get off of the mindset that you have to wear a gunbelt. Let the police and military do that! If you have a weapon you can turn it in to the local authorities because they have programs that deal with that issue. You will feel better about it along with your family.

-- Tanny (MissT@newsome.net), December 29, 2000.

When I first saw a picture of Michael Martinez (Birth name of the Mass. Shooter) the name Dennis Olson came to mind. Might have been the physical resemblance or the obvious mental imbalance, who knows.

So Tanny, be advised that the poster ‘J’ is none other than our infamous phat phuck from Y2K days past. You have joined a long list of folks that Dennis has vowed to ‘blow away’ should they appear at his door. And Tanny, if you have any young babies around your house, keep a close eye on them.

-- Barry (bchbear863@cs.com), December 29, 2000.

Tanny,

Thanks for the tip, I'll try not to be stupid in the future. Anyway, we each have to live our lives in a different way. I prefer to be responsible for myself, and go where I wish, you prefer to hide behind barred windows and bolted doors and hope you're safe.

To each their own.

Frank

P.S. If I ever decide to leave my current profession to become a home invader, the first thing I'll do is cut the phone line from outside -- it won't tip off the resident that you're coming, and won't alert them like cutting the power will.

P.P.S. You should really try shooting sometime for recreation (if you can in Canada) it's a lot of fun, and builds discipline.

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), December 29, 2000.

cin,

Was it you that tried to fix Z's html mistake?

When I viewed the source code, it appeared as if it were you that tried to fix it, but didn't succeed. My post ended up being merged into his, and your fixing post (if it was yours) ended up sandwiched in between our posts. Go to the view source function on your browser, and you will see what I mean.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), December 29, 2000.

Barry,

First off, you are incorrect to have chosen to believe that I am Dennis Olson. But, jump on the bandwagon if you wish; I suppose that it is easier for you than exercising critical reasoning skills.

Secondly, getting along in the world must be extremely difficult for you with such abominable reading comprehension skills. Have someone read the thread, and then ask them the meaning of what I have posted. Assuming that they are not similarly afflicted as you are in regards to reading comprehension, they will tell you that I never "vowed to blow away" anyone.

Good luck.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), December 29, 2000.

FUCK THE IRS. by: patilrn 12/28/00 9:58 pm Msg: 7290 of 7326 Happy now IRS assholes?

You've got NO BUSINESS using a payroll dept as a fucking pawn in your collection game.

Deal with it directly with the individual and the courts.

We need a law outlawing this type of IRS tactics.

um, yeppers, I'd say they are just a 'little' mean over there at that board....ROFL.

-- SUMER (shh@aol.con), December 29, 2000.

My ancestors were already here; were yours. They counted them.

Your ancestors, in the 17th century, did a deer census? And there are more deer now then there were then? I don't want to agree with the green girl, but that's a pretty outrageous statement. Can you back it up? Assuming your ancestors were Europeans, I have to ask what motivated them to do a deer census in the first place. 17th century Europeans weren't generally known for that sort of thing, being more involved with the fight for survival and all.

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), December 29, 2000.

One more thing, J-

why are you responding for Z?

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), December 29, 2000.

Tarzan,

I wasn't.

Z responded to Green Girl, but he made some sort of mistake in the html commands. Apparently cin tried to fix the html, and then I came along to post a response to Tanny.

The weird result was that my post merged into Z's post, and cin's attempted corrective post was sandwiched in between. Unk (I assume) finally cleaned up the html, but the weird result remains. Use your view source feature to see exactly about which I speak.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), December 29, 2000.

i SWEAR

I did not screw up the html

all i did was this:

HE HE HE

-- cin (cin@cin.cin), December 29, 2000.

cin,

I didn't think that you screwed up the html. I thought that you were trying to fix it after Z had screwed up the html. Apparently you were not trying to fix it, and somehow Z's post, your post, and my post, all ended up as one post.

Anyway, here's to our wonderful moderator for his tireless efforts to clean up after all of us. Have a happy new year, Uncle Deedah.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), December 29, 2000.