Shooting at Macomb Farm King
Macomb, Ill., the community my wife and I called home from 2003-2009, was rocked today by a shooting and subsequent hostage situation inside Farm King, a local farm supply retailer. A nearly six-hour standoff ensued, ending only when the gunman – a 19 year-old male – killed himself.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t mention an incident like this on this site. But since I read that the story was picked up by news outlets in the St. Louis market, I thought I might head off any questions by acknowledging that, yes, I am aware of what happened, and no, I was not in Macomb when it happened.
My employer, Genesis Image Builders, is headquartered in Macomb, and I typically report to our office there at least one day per week. Farm King happens to be one of our clients, and our office is on the same side of town as their store. I have been inside that store on many occasions, both as a shopper and while helping produce television commercials. But not today, thankfully.
While I am saddened that the gunman took his own life, I am happy no one else was injured. When we lived in Macomb, my wife worked right across the street from Farm King. She said one of her former coworkers (who still is a close friend) often shops at the store during her lunch hour – right about the time the initial shooting occurred.
Today, however, we are grateful that our friends were far from the field of fire when the shooting occurred. Meanwhile, the Farm King employees and shoppers who were in the store at the time of the incident are in our prayers.
Similar Posts:
- None Found
Michelle Wardlow on February 4th, 2010
All that was is the devil showing out. We have, and by “we” I mean the sisters in our church, not necessarily myself until really this week, have been rebuking the spirit of suicide specifically. Pastor made mention of it in his sermon, since there has been another suicide in the area. One of my niemann co-workers lost his sister this past week to a self inflicted gunshot wound. Again, thankfully no one was injured. Many were traumatized and I’m more than sure it will take time to clean up the store. I was in there earlier in the day getting things ready for my spring garden. God is truly a keeper! He that watches Isreal neither slumbers nor sleeps.