Dumb luck prevents another lone gunman massacre

The gunman, William Spengler, 62, did kill and wound a few innocents. But more victims may be discovered in the wreckage he left behind. So Spengler may yet make the Lone Gunman Massacre list for 2012.

The event began when Spengler set his home on fire, a stage on which he then attacked the first responders. The fire eventually moved from Spengler’s home to neighboring houses.

Spengler

…left behind a chilling typewritten note recovered by investigators, Gerald L. Pickering, the police chief in Webster, told reporters on Tuesday. Chief Pickering, who described the writing as rambling, read just a portion of the note: “I still have to get ready to see how much of the neighborhood I can burn down and do what I like doing best — killing people.”

Spengler had served time for manslaughter. His first victim: His grandmother, whom he killed with a hammer. His weapons this time: A Bushmaster assault rifle, a Smith and Wesson .38-caliber revolver and a Mossberg 12-gauge pump shotgun. As a felon, Spengler could not own a gun.

A Bushmaster

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