About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2018)
NATION The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Wednesday, November 21,2018 5A Gunman had previously threatened firefighter cadet DAVID BANKS I Associated Press Chicago police officers and firefighters form an honor guard as the body of Chicago Police Officer Samuel Jimenez is brought to the coroner Monday, Nov. 19, in Chicago. BY AMANDA SEITZ AND DON BABWIN Associated Press CHICAGO — A man who fatally shot his ex-fiancee outside a Chicago hospital before killing two people inside the building was once kicked out of the city’s firefighting academy after threatening a female cadet, officials said Tuesday. Juan Lopez, who died fol lowing the shooting Monday at Mercy Hospital, was also the subject of a protection order request filed four years ago, and he legally pur chased several guns in recent years, police said. It was unclear whether Lopez shot himself or was fatally shot by police. Four years ago, fire department officials learned of the threats to the cadet and told Lopez that he would be disciplined. He was dis missed after he went AWOL, fire department spokesman Larry Merritt said. Merritt did not have any details of the past threats. But they were made the same year a woman sought an order of protection against Lopez because he was inces santly texting her. Police said they have not determined if the woman was granted an order of protection. Lopez was not criminally charged. On Monday, Lopez’s first victim was Dr. Tamara O’Neal, to whom he had been engaged. O’Neal had recently called off their engagement, and Lopez confronted her about returning the engage ment ring, police said. After shooting the emer gency room doctor near a hospital parking lot, the gun man ran into the medical center, where he continued firing. The gunshots killed a police officer and a phar macy resident, authorities said. Lopez had a permit to pos sess a concealed firearm, but it was unclear if offi cials knew about the 2014 complaint when the permit was granted, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Gug- lielmi said. Lopez had legally pur chased four guns in the last five years and worked for the Chicago Housing Authority, Guglielmi said. Investigators identified the other shooting victims as Dayna Less, 25, who worked in the hospital’s pharmacy and had recently graduated from Purdue University, and Officer Samuel Jimenez, 28, who joined the department in February 2017 and had recently completed his pro bationary period. Police said he was a married father of three children. “This officer, all of those officers, are heroes. They saved a lot of lives because we just don’t know how much damage he was prepared to do,” Chicago Police Superin tendent Eddie Johnson said late Monday outside another hospital, just minutes after leaving the slain officer’s family. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, fighting back tears, said the victims were “all going about their day, all doing what they loved.” He added: “This just tears at the soul of our city. It is the face and a consequence of evil.” Lopez, 32, and O’Neal had been arguing in the hospi tal parking lot. When one of O’Neal’s friends tried to intervene, “the offender lifted up his shirt and dis played a handgun,” Johnson said. The friend ran into the hospital to call for help, and the gunfire began seconds later. After O’Neal fell to the ground, Lopez “stood over her and shot her three more times,” a witness named James Gray told reporters. When officers arrived, the suspect fired at their squad car then ran inside the hos pital. The police gave chase. Inside the medical center, Lopez exchanged fire with officers and “shot a poor woman who just came off the elevator” before he was killed, Johnson said, refer ring to Less. Jennifer Eldridge was working in a hospital phar macy when she heard three or four shots that seemed to come from outside. Within seconds, she barricaded the door, as called for in the building’s active shooter drills. Then there were six or seven more shots that sounded much closer, just outside the door. “I could tell he was now inside the lobby. There was screaming,” she recalled. The door jiggled, which Eldridge believed was the shooter trying to get in. Some 15 minutes later, she esti mated, a SWAT team officer knocked at the door, came inside and led her away. She looked down and saw blood on the floor but no bodies. “It may have been 15 min utes, but it seemed like an eternity,” she said. Maria Correa hid under a desk, clutching her 4-month- old son Angel, while the vio lence unfolded. Correa was in the waiting area of the hos pital for her mother-in-law’s doctor appointment when a hospital employee told them to lock themselves in offices. 400 years later, natives who helped Pilgrims finally gain a voice STEVEN SENNE I Associated Press Visitors walk past a fort at Plimoth Plantation living history museum village on Sunday Nov. 18, in Plymouth, Mass., where visitors can get a glimpse into the world of the 1627 Pilgrim village. BY WILLIAM J. K0LE Associated Press PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The sea side town where the Pilgrims came ashore in 1620 is gearing up for a 400th birthday bash, and everyone’s invited — especially the native peo ple whose ancestors wound up los ing their land and their lives. Plymouth, Massachusetts, whose European settlers have come to symbolize American liberty and grit, marks its quadricentennial in 2020 with a trans-Atlantic commem oration that will put Native Ameri cans’ unvarnished side of the story on full display. “It’s history. It happened,” said Michele Pecoraro, executive direc tor of Plymouth 400, Inc., a non profit group organizing yearlong events. “We’re not going to solve every problem and make everyone feel better. We just need to move the needle.” Organizers are understandably cautious this time around. When the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrim landing was observed in 1970, state officials disinvited a leader of the Wampanoag Nation — the Native American tribe that helped the hag gard newcomers survive their first bitter winter — after learning his speech would bemoan the disease, racism and oppression that followed the Pilgrims. That triggered angry demonstra tions from tribal members who staged a National Day of Mourn ing, a somber remembrance that indigenous New Englanders have observed on every Thanksgiving Day since. This time, there’s pressure to get it right, said Jim Peters, a Wampa noag who directs the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs. “We’ll be able to tell some stories of what happened to us — to delve back into our history and talk about it,” Peters said. “Hopefully it will give us a chance to re-educate peo ple and have a national discussion about how we should be treating each other.” The commemoration known as Plymouth 400 will feature events throughout 2020, including a mari time salute in Plymouth Harbor in June, an embarkation festival in September, and a week of ceremo nies around Thanksgiving. The Mayflower II, a replica of the ship that carried the settlers from Europe to the New World four centuries ago, will sail to Boston in the spring. That autumn, it will head to Provincetown, at the outermost tip of Cape Cod, where the Pilgrims initially landed before continuing on to Plymouth. Events also are planned in Brit ain and in the Netherlands, where the Pilgrims spent 11 years in exile before making their perilous sea crossing. But the emphasis is on highlight ing the often-ignored history of the Wampanoag and poking holes in the false narrative that Pilgrims and Indians coexisted in peace and harmony. An interactive exhibit now mak ing the rounds describes how the Wampanoag were cheated and enslaved, and in August 2020 tribal members will guide visitors on a walk through Plymouth to point out and consecrate spots where their ancestors once trod. There are also plans to invite relatives of the late Wampanoag elder Wamsutta “Frank” James to publicly read that speech he wasn’t allowed to deliver in 1970 — an address that includes this passage: “We, the Wampanoag, welcomed you, the white man, with open arms, little knowing that it was the begin ning of the end.” “The Pilgrims had hardly explored the shores of Cape Cod for four days before they had robbed the graves of my ancestors and stolen their corn and beans,” the speech reads. I^ight Choice Energy Efficient Homes, Guaranteed. The Right Way to Build Your Home. Right Choice homes are typically 20 to 30% more efficient on heating and cooling costs than standard homes. A three-year energy warranty guarantees that your Right Choice home's heating and cooling energy costs will be below a specified amount each year. Take the first step. Watch Ty's videos at jacksonemc.com/rightchoice El I.CTF |L Ml MSI KSHI INCORPORATION
