William Baker

Monday, 5 February 2001

Melrose Park, Illinois, USA

4 dead

Published on 6 February 2001, TELEGRAPH HERALD

GUNMAN KILLS 4, SELF AT PLANT

MELROSE PARK, Ill. - A former factory worker who got caught stealing from his employer forced his way into the suburban Chicago engine plant Monday and opened fire one day before he was to report to prison. He killed five people, including himself, and wounded four others.

William D. Baker, 66, showed up at the Navistar International plant with an arsenal of weapons in a golf bag and made his way through the vast building, blasting away with an AK-47 assault rifle, police said.

Published on 6 February 2001, THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

5 killed, 4 hurt in factory shooting

Melrose Park, Ill. -- A factory worker who was fired six years ago for theft returned to the plant Monday and opened fire with an assault rifle, slaying four employees and wounding four others before killing himself, authorities said. William D. Baker, 66, a former worker at Navistar International Corp., had been scheduled to turn himself over to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons today, authorities said.

Published on 6 February 2001, MSNBC

WHY DID BAKER HAVE HIS GUNS?

William Baker was getting ready to report to prison for his second felony conviction. He was convicted of a criminal sexual assault in 1998 and more recently was to do time for theft of engines and parts from the Navistar plant. In Illinois, felons are prohibited from possession a firearms owner identification (FOID) card, their ticket to buying weapons. But that didn't stop Baker, who had a legal, up-to-date FOID card. State records show that Baker received his FOID card in February 1993, and renewed it on May 8, 1998. That was just two weeks before his conviction for sexual assault. "The fact that he was a convicted felon and had four weapons on him that weren't confiscated is amazing to us," said Kirsten Curley, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence.

It appears most of his guns were purchased legally. Baker bought his Remington 870 shotgun and Marlin 30-30 rifle at a Glen Ellyn gun store in December 1993. NBC 5 has learned that the revolver he used to kill himself and one of his victims was purchased legally in Lincolnwood in 1974. Still being traced is an SKS 1954 R, a soviet assault rifle similar to an AK-47. Melrose Park police confirm they will run the shell casings from the crime scene through the state police IBIS system to see if any of these weapons have ever been used in any previous crimes. A fifth gun, a .22 caliber rifle, was discovered when Baker's home was searched Monday night. Both the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Attorney General's Office say there appears to be no provision in Illinois for taking someone's guns away once they are convicted of a felony as Baker was twice.

Published on 6 February 2001, WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES

FORMER EMPLOYEE RETURNS TO FACTORY WITH ASSAULT RIFLE; KILLS FOUR, THEN SELF

At first, Martin Reutimann couldn't believe it. "I heard somebody yell, "There's a guy in the center aisle with a gun!"' the 24-year-old engineer said.

Reutimann saw people running past him, so he grabbed his coat and cellular phone, and desperately dialed 911. Within minutes Monday, four employees were dead and another four wounded at the suburban Chicago engine plant.

Published on 6 February 2001, Chicago Sun-Times

FELON'S POSSESSION OF GUNS ILLEGAL

Authorities said they are not sure where William Baker got the four guns he carried inside Navistar's Melrose Park plant, but the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said it has put an expedited trace on the weapons.

Recovered from Baker's body were four guns: a fully automatic AK-47 assault rifle; a snubnose, .38-caliber police special revolver; a Remington 12 gauge shotgun, and a .30-caliber Winchester hunting rifle with scope.

Baker should not have had the weapons because of his criminal record, ATF spokesman Tom Ahern said.

Baker was a convicted felon. If he bought the guns prior to his conviction and sentencing in 1998, he should have turned them over. If he received them afterward, he purchased them illegally.

The traces on the weapons will show where the guns were made, who the wholesaler and retailer of the weapon were, and who purchased them, assuming the proper paperwork was filled out.