Police say several killed in shootings at Conn. beer distributor, worker had been told to quit

Police: Several killed in Conn. workplace shooting

MANCHESTER, Conn. — Authorities say several people were killed when a warehouse worker who had been told to resign opened fire at a beer distributor in Connecticut.

State police Lt. J. Paul Vance says the number of deaths hasn’t been confirmed in the shootings Tuesday morning in Manchester, about 10 miles east of Hartford.

Brett Hollander of Hartford Distributors has said at least three people were shot. He says 50 to 70 people were inside during a shift change and that the company is “just trying to figure out who’s shot, who’s not accounted for.”

Vance says authorities were searching the building to make sure everyone was accounted for.

Hollander says he did not know the shooter well and didn’t know how long he had worked at the company.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

MANCHESTER, Conn. (AP) — A warehouse worker who had been called in to resign his job at a beer distributor opened fire there Tuesday morning, a company executive said, and at least three people were wounded, one critically.

Manchester police Lt. Joe San Antonio would not confirm whether anyone was killed or what happened to the gunman. A fire at the warehouse, about 10 miles east of Hartford, was put out.

Three people with gunshot wounds were taken to Hartford Hospital, said spokeswoman Michaela Donnelly. One was in critical condition, one was in fair condition and one person’s condition was unknown, she said.

About 50 to 70 people were in the warehouse because it was a shift change, said Brett Hollander, the director of marketing at Hartford Distributors.

“We’re now just trying to figure out who’s shot, who’s not accounted for,” he said.

Hollander’s cousin, a vice president at the company, was shot in the arm and the face, Hollander said, but he thought he would be OK. It was not clear if he was among the victims taken to Hartford Hospital.

Hollander, whose family owns the distributor, said he did not know the shooter well and didn’t know how long he had worked there.

Police officers from numerous agencies and police and fire vehicles surrounded the warehouse, on a tree-lined road in an industrial park just west of a shopping mall. A SWAT team with a police dog was walking around the property a couple of hours after the 7 a.m. shooting.

Associated Press writer Michelle R. Smith contributed to this report.