Police: Shooting of worker was planned

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY

A gunman lay in wait outside Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport on Tuesday before shooting and killing a Southwest Airlines employee in a premeditated attack that occurred while hundreds of people waited for flights nearby, police said.

Michael Winchester, 52, was shot while walking between a crowded terminal and the airport employee parking area. The unidentified suspect later was found dead in a pickup truck in public parking garage overlooking the scene. Police said the suspect appeared to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Paco Balderrama said the shooter apparently knew the victim’s schedule and routine.

“This individual went there and waited for the employee to either be coming or going to take this opportunity,” Balderrama said. He wouldn’t say conclusively that it was a “sniper-type” attack.

The 1 p.m. shooting set off a scramble at the airport, with police immediately closing the sprawling complex and asking passengers inside to seek cover.