AURORA, Ill. _ On the morning he shot and killed five people and injured five police officers, Aurora, Ill., warehouse gunman Gary Martin warned a co-worker that "If I get fired, I'm going to kill every mother (expletive) here" and "I am going to blow police up," according to the Kane County state's attorney's review of the incident.
State's Attorney Joe McMahon released his findings in a memo Monday, hours before the five police officers who were shot and several other Aurora police employees were scheduled to be honored in a ceremony. The memo offers the most detailed account to date of the Feb. 15 shooting.
It is believed Martin brought the gun into work with him that Friday because there is no video evidence of him leaving and going to his car to retrieve a gun, officials said.
Martin arrived at work around 6:45 a.m. and encountered fellow employee Vicente Juarez near the time clock. He spoke with Juarez regarding an incident Martin had the previous day about safety glasses.
Martin spoke to a few employees that Friday morning and expressed concern that he may be fired and threatened to shoot up the warehouse if he did.
An employee told officials that he did not report the statement because he believed Martin was making "off the wall" statements. The employee said he knew Martin kept a gun in his car, but he had never seen Martin bring the gun into the warehouse.
Around 1 p.m., Tim Williams, a union steward, received a text from human resources director Clayton Parks saying a disciplinary meeting would be held with Martin for not wearing his safety glasses, officials said.
The meeting, which included Williams, Parks, and union chairman Russell Beyer, plant manager Josh Pinkard, and human resources intern Trevor Wehner, was moved to a private office so other employees wouldn't hear the conversation.
Beyer told Martin about the meeting and asked him to come upstairs. Martin was seen walking to his workstation to retrieve something and he also put on a hoodie.
As Martin entered the meeting, he was given a disciplinary write-up and was told by Parks that they would begin the termination process, officials said.
Martin began using profanity and Pinkard told him, "OK, it's over." At this point, Martin replied: "Yeah, it's over."
Williams said he began to stand up when he noticed rapid movement and heard gunshots, officials said. Williams ran toward the door and was shot in the wrist, and he continued running out of the room and down the stairs, yelling "Gary is shooting."
Employees on the first floor saw Williams run down the stairs and Martin chasing him with a gun in his hand, officials said. Williams was eventually shot twice more in his back. He escaped the warehouse and survived.
Martin then went to the loading dock and multiple people saw Martin shoot Juarez, officials said.
"It is apparent from the evidence that he specifically targeted Mr. Juarez," the memo read. Sources said Juarez was one of several people the shooter had clashed with at the warehouse over the years.
Juarez, Parks, Beyer, Pinkard, and Wehner were each shot three to six times and died within minutes, a coroner report released earlier this month stated.
Police were dispatched to the warehouse around 1:24 p.m. Within four minutes, officers Chris Weaver, John Cebulski, James Zegar and Dave Sheldon entered the building.
Video surveillance from inside Pratt shows Martin positioning himself near a doorway armed with a gun prior to police arriving. As officers arrive at the parking lot, Martin is seen aiming and shooting through the glass doors at officers.
Two minutes later, officer Marco Gomez got out of his police vehicle and crossed the parking lot on foot when he was shot.
Weaver and Cebulski went up the stairs to look for the shooter. While moving down a staircase, the two came under gunfire, officials said.
Weaver yelled "Aurora police" and believes he fired his weapon seven or eight times in an effort to stop Martin from shooting back, officials said.
Cebulski was struck in the kneecap by a bullet and the two officers took cover and waited in a stairwell for about 20 minutes for other officers to arrive and assist them.
Officers Renaldo Rivera, Adam Miller, and Zegar were shot outside the building.
Naperville Police Officer Shaun Moy, a member of the Naperville Special Response Team, entered Pratt with a Naperville Police SWAT Team to assist Aurora police. Upon arrival, police began making their way through the first floor of the warehouse.
The warehouse was described as huge with many rows of shelving and equipment, Aurora police Detective Chris Bosson said.
As the team approached a workshop area, Moy heard a noise that sounded like a piece of metal fall or roll around.
Moy said to Martin, "Police, show yourself," and Martin quickly popped up from behind some machinery and pointed a gun at Moy that was equipped with a green laser.
Moy said he saw Martin fire at least four shots and Moy returned fire with his handgun.
Naperville Officer Shaun Ferguson and two other officers began to climb racks to obtain a higher ground over Martin. From his position, he saw Martin sitting in a chair with a gun in his right hand at his chest. Ferguson said he saw Martin's hand slowly drop from his chest to his side and Ferguson fired on Martin three times.
Bosson also fired his rifle twice at Martin and said he believes the first shot struck Martin in the chest and the second shot struck him in the head.
Martin was shot six times, one of which was likely self-inflicted to his jaw, Kane County Coroner Rob Russell said in his report made public April 16. Russell said the self-inflicted shot and police shots were likely nearly simultaneous.
The Kane County state's attorney's office determined officers were justified in shooting Martin.
