heck CNN affiliates WTNH and WFSB.(CNN) -- Frantic 911 calls placed Tuesday from a business in Manchester, Connecticut, vividly capture dispatchers' efforts to calm employees, including a crying woman in a storage closet, during a shooting spree that left nine dead, including the shooter.
The recordings were released Wednesday by police, who are investigating the shootings at a beverage distributor by employee Omar Thornton, 34, who had just signed a letter of resignation over a theft allegation. The following information has been edited and times are approximate. Not all calls are included.
7:26 a.m.: Someone from Hartford Distributors calls 911. "Hurry up, please," he says.
7:27 a.m.: Another man: "His name is Omar. Hurry, please ... He's killing [expletive] people. ... He's going back in the building now."
7:28 a.m.: Caller: "I guess you are on the way. We have at least five people down at Hartford Distributors."
7:28 a.m.: Steve Hollander, company vice president, calls and describes the suspect. Hollander was grazed by a bullet and released from the hospital.
Caller: I need the cops here at Hartford Distributors right away. Shooting.
911: What's going on? Who got shot?
Caller: Somebody got shot. I got shot.
911: I need some information, sir.
Caller: We need the cops. Omar Thornton is shooting people. I just got shot.
911: OK, I need to know what his name is.
Caller: His name is Omar Thornton, he is a black guy. Get the cops here right away, please.
911: Sir, stay on the line with me.
Caller: I'm bleeding all over the place.
911: OK, how many people got shot?
Caller: I don't know.
911: OK, you don't know. And you are shot where?
Caller: In my head.
911: You are shot in the head?
Caller: Yeah.
911: And what's your name?
Caller: My name is Steve Hollander.
911: OK, who was the person shooting people again?
Caller: His name is Omar Thornton. He is a black guy. He is wearing shorts.
911: OK, black man, shorts. Anything else? What kind of gun?
Caller: I don't know. I didn't see it.
911: You didn't see it. And where are you in the building, sir?
Caller: I'm hiding in an office.
911: Hiding where?
Caller: In an office. People are running all over the place.
911: OK, I understand that. Keep talking to me and we can help you more.
Caller: OK, all right, yeah.
911: And you don't know if it was an automatic weapon or not?
Caller: He shot pretty fast.
911: OK, you are still, you are bleeding a lot?
Caller: Yeah, there's people running all over the place.
Caller: OK. I see him running away right now. He is shooting at somebody else. He is still shooting.
911: (muffled) Shooter is outside.
Caller: He is shooting at a girl.
911: OK, how many people are down, sir?
911: (Muffled -- talking to other dispatchers)
Caller: He's got a -- he is still running after people. He is not leaving.
911: OK. Do you see what kind of gun he has, sir?
Caller: It's a black gun. I don't know. He's wearing a blue shirt and blue shorts. He has got -- he's got -- he's got a -- oh (expletive) he is still shooting. I hear guns out there.
911: He used to work there?
Caller: Yeah, until I just fired him.
911: Today?
Caller: Today, just now, before he started shooting. He is chasing people out in the parking lot.
911: (aside) He is in the parking lot chasing people.
Caller: With his gun, shooting at them. He's carrying a red lunch bag. He is right out in front of my office right now. I see him walking around. He's got a black shorts and a blue shirt. He's still walking around in the parking lot.
911: Where is he now?
Caller: He may be coming back into the building ...
7:29 a.m. A caller is told 10 ambulances are on the way.
7:29 a.m. A woman calls from a storage closet.
911: Where are you ma'am?
Caller: I'm here, I'm here. I'm right here.
911: Are you hiding?
Caller: Yes, yes.
911: Stay down where you are and hold on one second.
Caller: (Crying)
7:30 a.m. Call from woman in storage closet.
911: Ma'am, Are you hurt?
Caller: No. No.
911: Are you hiding in a office? Is the door locked?
Caller: No, the door is not locked.
911: Get down, OK?
Caller: I am hiding in the dark.
911: Hide in the dark and get down. Is the door locked?
Caller: No.
911: I need you to hide and not move, OK?
Caller: Yes.
911: There will be people on the scene. We are trying to get everybody out of there.
Caller: I am back in the back storage paper closet. Please help me.
911: Stay back there and we will come to you, all right?
Caller: Help me, please. Help me.
911: Ma'am we are on the way. Please stay down and stay low, all right?
Caller: Yes.
911: Thank you.
7:33 a.m. Call from the woman in the building.
911: Hello?
Caller: Are you here yet?
911: We are on the scene, ma'am. Are you still in the room?
Caller: Yes, I am in the building
911: Are you in the back hiding? Can you lock the door?
Caller: I don't want to get up. Do you have him?
911: We do not have him yet.
Caller: I do not want to get up.
911: Do you know what kind of car he drives or anything?
Caller: I don't know anything. He is a tall black guy. He is the only black guy who works here almost.
911: We know who he is, we are just trying to locate him. Do you hear shooting? Where are you?
Caller: No.
911: You do not?
Caller: But come in the back please and come get me.
911: OK, we are on the way. But I need you to stay where you are. Stay down, stay low and in the corner, all right?
Caller: Yes.
7:34 a.m. Call to woman in closet.
911: I need you to stay down, stay low and stay in the back. We will come to you, do not go outside. OK?
Caller: OK.
911: I have to take care of more people. All right? Thank you
7:43 a.m.: From an injured man in building
Caller: Hi, I am at Hartford Distributors. I am at one of the offices. Can you find out if it is safe for me to come out yet?
911: It is not, sir. Are you bleeding heavily?
Caller: No, not heavily.
911: You feel OK right now?
Caller: Yeah.
911: How many people do you have with you?
Caller: My son, just me and my son.
(Other conversations on location)
911: I need you stay in there. Is the door locked?
Caller: Yes.
911: Stay in there and stay down. Have your son keep an eye. If you start to become less awake have him call us right away.
(More conversations)
Caller: I am fine. I know for a fact two people are dead in here inside the building, not in my office, in the hallway. They were both shot right in the head.
(Audible sigh)
911: Sir, just stay in the office with your son, please.
8:06 a.m.: East Hartford calls and gives location of suspect in the building. Police can see him through the window where deliveries are handled.
8:43 a.m.: Police call saying that a trooper is believed to be with the suspect's body, but needing confirmation. "We don't even know if he is down as far as I'm concerned." Further conversations about suspect's car.
8:44 a.m.: An officer is asked if a trooper was with Thornton's body. "Yes, he's deceased. The weapon was with him."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/04/connecticut.shootings.911/index.html?section=cnn_latest