Police: Okla. airport shooting likely case of workplace revenge

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A man who gunned down a Southwest Airlines employee outside of Oklahoma City's airport likely did so in retaliation for having lost his own job with the airline last year, police said today.

Lloyd Dean Buie, 45, killed 52-year-old Michael Winchester on Tuesday as Winchester was leaving work and walking to an employee parking lot, police Capt. Paco Balderrama said at a news conference.

Buie fired the shot from the fourth floor of a parking garage when Winchester was about 50 yards away, he said. Buie was later found dead in his pickup truck in the garage. Police think he shot himself.

"We know his intention was to go to the airport to hurt someone," Balderrama said. "The suspect knew where the employees parked and where they would be walking."

Buie quit his job as a ramp agent for Southwest Airlines in April 2015 after he refused to take an alcohol screening, airline spokeswoman Brandy King said Wednesday. She said co-workers had suspected Buie was under the influence at work, but she declined to say if Winchester, a ramp supervisor who had worked for Southwest for 29 years, was involved or to describe any interactions the two men may have had.

"Our Southwest family is grieving, as we are deeply saddened by the loss of our family member. Our focus remains on offering support to the Winchester family and Southwest employees during this difficult time," King said.