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Sniper Attack in San Diego

At Least Two Shot Dead at Senior Citizens Center, Gunman Uncaptured

April 11 — At least two people were killed today when gunshots rang out at a San Diego senior citizens center in what appeared to be a sniper attack, Chula Vista Police Lt. Gary Wedge said.

Authorities are looking for at least one suspect. The shooting took place at Congregational Towers, a senior citizens center in Chula Vista at around 2:50 p.m. local time. Police, who arrived at the scene minutes after the shooting was reported, were fired upon six times according to Sgt. David Eisenberg.

Police are trying to determine exactly where the shots came from and whether the suspect could be in the building. Traffic has been sealed off around the center and tactical units and police helicopters are searching for the suspect. Building residents in the surrounding area are also under lockdown.

Witnesses said the gunman appeared to be a white male.

"He didn't look like one of the residents," one witness said.

The names of the dead have not been released. Both were found in the lobby of the building, Wedge said.

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2001

Answers

just another nut with a gun.

Gunman kills 3, self in Chula Vista Man facing eviction identified as shooter

By Karen Kucher and Jeff Ristine STAFF WRITERS

April 12, 2001

CHULA VISTA -- A man facing eviction from a low-income senior citizens tower shot and killed the building's two managers and a tenant yesterday, then holed up in an apartment before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.

The gunman, Eugene Clayton Molter, 68, was described by the building's assistant manager as being angry over a rent increase and had been ordered to leave today.

Killed in the attack at Congregational Tower were managers Patricia Carignan, 60, and her 65-year-old husband, Albert Carignan, who were shot on the ground floor of the 16-story building about 2:30 p.m. Police said a security videotape showed one of the victims being shot.

Resident Ariel Ibarra, 72, was found dead in a room on the 16th floor.

Ibarra may have been targeted by Molter, who police said had lived in the building for six years, because Ibarra had filed complaints against him, assistant manager Shiloh Haines said.

Ibarra's daughter-in-law said Ibarra had several clashes with Molter, who lived in the apartment directly beneath him. She said Molter would harass Ibarra by hitting the ceiling with a baseball bat.

Molter fired upon police at least six times as they responded to the shooting, and at least one officer returned fire, Chula Vista police Lt. Gary Wedge said. None of the officers was hit.

The shooting and its aftermath trapped residents in the 186-unit building at Third Avenue and F Street for hours as police searched for the suspect. Office workers and diners at nearby restaurants also were told to stay inside as the incident unfolded over nearly five hours.

For many tower residents in poor health or with limited mobility, the shooting was particularly terrifying.

The ordeal ended about 7 p.m., when police said they had found the body of the gunman in an apartment on the 15th floor, directly below a room with a broken-out window. He had a gun in his hand and a self- inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

The incident marked the fifth time in less than six weeks that a San Diego County neighborhood was shattered by gunfire.

It came after incidents at Santana High School in Santee, where two students were killed; Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, where five were wounded; a gunfight in the Gaslamp that ended with one person dead and four wounded; and a shooting in the College Area, where a barricaded resident was firing randomly into the street at women and children.

As in those earlier shootings, fear swept through the community as relatives of some tower residents were unable to immediately establish whether their loved ones were among the victims.

Apartment resident David Rivera said he came face to face with the gunman after hearing someone screaming for help.

"I see this woman shot in the head. She's the manager," said Rivera, a first-floor resident. "The manager's husband was laying face down in the office screaming for help."

The gunman then pointed his weapon at Rivera.

"I saw the guy against the wall with a pistol," he said. "I ran from the office."

Another resident, 81-year-old John Soovajian, saw manager Patricia Carignan's body slumped on the floor against an office window.

"There was so much blood you couldn't recognize her," he said.

Officers who swarmed the area closed streets and instructed residents to remain indoors. Officers from Chula Vista, San Diego, National City and the Sheriff's Department took part.

At one point, a helicopter dropped a team of SWAT officers on the roof. Just before 5 o'clock, paramedics put on bulletproof vests and climbed into an armored SWAT vehicle to care for an elderly female resident who was having chest pains.

Police began a room-by-room, floor-by-floor search of the building while officers used the armored vehicle to evacuate residents, some of whom were in wheelchairs.

A few minutes after 6 p.m., officers fired flash-bang devices into the 16th-floor window, where they believed the shooter to be. A short time later, the gunman was found by police in an apartment on the 15th floor.

After the residents were evacuated from the building, they were put on buses and shuttled to Park Way Gymnasium, where counselors and anxious relatives were waiting for them.

By 10:30 p.m., all of the Congregational Tower residents had left the gym. Those who chose to return home were escorted through a side door and into their apartments. Others decided to stay with family members.

Phyllis Davis, who has lived in the building for 14 years, remained inside her apartment as the incident unfolded.

"It is scary," she said. "Some of my friends (from the building) have called and they can't go back home again and are wondering if everything is all right.

"I'm upset. First it's schools, and now it's Congregational Tower where all the old people live."

Davis said Albert Carignan handled the building's maintenance and once rushed to the assistance of Davis' husband when he needed medical help. She said many residents have health problems that must have made yesterday's ordeal all the more difficult to bear.

Doors locked "Lots of people have heart trouble, and if they didn't have it before they do now," she said. Resident Valdomero del Toro heeded SWAT officers' advice, locking his door as he heard helicopters circling overhead.

"They say he is still in the building. He's still in the building," said del Toro, reached by telephone in his apartment. He said he rarely ventures outside because he has a bad knee and bad hip.

Among those trapped in nearby buildings was Rep. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista, who was with staff members in his district office, about a block from where the shooting happened. He watched the drama on TV.

"It strikes me we're all in this together. We're all vulnerable" to gun violence, Filner said. "We have to do soul searching as a community."

Resident William Harrison said Albert Carignan would have coffee ready in the recreation room every morning and that the manager would finish his vacuuming quickly so as not to disturb Harrison's reading.

"I am not easy to please, but I will truly say he did a fantastic job taking care of me," Harrison said. "Now we're going to miss them."

Peter Kim, whose parents live in the tower, said some of the 210 residents were informed of a rent hike two or three weeks ago. The increase stemmed at least in part from escalating energy costs, but affected only renters in certain income brackets, Kim said.

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now the utilities have blood on their hands. when will the carnage end?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001