- Johnson Space Center shooting
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NASA Johnson Space Center hostage crisis Location Clear Lake City, Houston, Texas, United States Date Friday, April 20, 2007
1:00 pm — 5:00 p.m. (UTC-5)Target Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Attack type Hostage taking, spree shooting Weapon(s) .38 or .357-caliber revolver Death(s) 2 (including the perpetrator) Perpetrator(s) William A. Philips The Johnson Space Center shooting was an incident of hostage taking that occurred on April 20, 2007 in Building 44, the Communication and Tracking Development Laboratory, at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, United States. The gunman, William Phillips, an employee for Jacobs Engineering who worked at Building 44[1], shot and killed one person and took a hostage for over three hours before committing suicide.[1] Police said Phillips was under review for poor job performance and he feared being dismissed.[2]
Contents
Timeline of events
The situation began at 1:00 p.m. (UTC-5) when gunman William Phillips entered a conference room, pointed a .38 or .357-caliber snub-nosed revolver[1] at one person, and ordered everybody else to leave.[3]
He immediately confronted David Beverly about his job review, saying "You're the one who's going to get me fired." The two talked for several minutes. Then, at approximately 1:40 p.m., three gunshots were heard. Police said Beverly was initially shot twice, but he was still alive. Phillips left and then returned seconds later to shoot Beverly twice more.[2][4]
Phillips then took Fran Crenshaw, who happened to be in the area, hostage and bound her to a chair with duct tape. Phillips barricaded himself and Crenshaw inside the second floor of Building 44 for the next three hours.[1] During this, Crenshaw attempted to calm Phillips, with whom she is reported to have had a positive relationship. Later, Crenshaw was able to get herself out of the tape and alert authorities about what was happening.
Meanwhile, SWAT teams surrounded the building.[1] Building 44 as well as four other nearby buildings were evacuated and NASA employees in other buildings were ordered to remain inside their buildings, but were later told they were free to go at the end of the workday.[5] A nearby school, Space Center Intermediate School, was placed on lockdown temporarily.
The incident ended at 5:00 p.m. as the SWAT teams attempted to communicate with Phillips when the gunman committed suicide with a single shot to the head.[1] Crenshaw was taken to St. John Hospital by ambulance and then released for questioning by the Houston Police Department. She was physically unharmed and walked under her own power out of the hospital.[3]
Victims
A person identified as David Beverly was shot four times to the chest and killed. He was 62 years old and an electrical parts specialist employed by NASA.[2] The hostage, identified as Fran Crenshaw, is a contract worker with MRI Technologies. During the incident, she attempted to calm Phillips and eventually escaped her bonds.
The perpetrator
Photo of gunman William Phillips [6]
The gunman was identified as 60-year-old William A. Phillips,[5], who was known to be unmarried and lived by himself. He was an employee of Jacobs Engineering, and had worked for NASA for 12 to 13 years.[1] Michael Coats, director of the JSC, said Phillips was "until recently, a good employee."[5] Phillips knew the two victims, David Beverly and Fran Crenshaw. Police said there was "some kind of dispute" between Beverly and Phillips, possibly related to a pending review of job performance.[1][2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Monica Rhor. "Gunman kills hostage, self at NASA center". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18233965/. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ a b c d Rasha Madkour. "NASA shooting suspect feared being fired, police say". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/4736501.html. Retrieved 2007-04-21.[dead link]
- ^ a b Michelle Homer. "JSC gunman was NASA engineer". KHOU-TV. Archived from the original on 2007-05-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20070510121901/http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou070420_mh_jscevacuation.2acd63a6.html. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ Nasa killer 'had bad job review' BBC News
- ^ a b c "Gunman Kills Hostage, Himself at Johnson Space Center in Houston". FOXNews.com. 2007-04-21. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,267462,00.html.
- ^ MTB News - Blogging the weird, odd, offbeat news, views, art and best videos on the web
External links
Categories:- 2007 crimes in the United States
- History of Houston, Texas
- Hostage taking
- Deaths by firearm in Texas
- Murder–suicides
- American murder victims
- People murdered in Texas
- Murder in Texas
- 2007 in Texas
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