The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 4

i Tttf ai ir(rn ik-v tA i ti ti-i Man began buying guns a year ago FUND SET UP FOR VICTIMS A fund has been established for victims of Thursday's shooting at Standard Gravure Corp. and their families. Contributors may send money to the Standard Gravure Fund, Liberty National Bank, P. 0. Box 94191, Louisville, Ky.

40294. Donors may also take contributions to any Liberty branch. -f 1H 1:1 mil'' I iiiiiirftirtir-i' IS ft mil cites city's i r-; IJI. n-ni. rtUti iln.im.iii nm 1 -i nn IHiirJ.

tfMjOSt Tin devastation Tragedy has come to our home. All of us know what it is." inspectors, and we have 260,000 firearms dealers in the U.S.," he said. At a practice range in the police headquarters' basement yesterday afternoon, Detective Gary Mason a former sharpshooter for the city SWAT team test-fired the AK-47 and the two MAC-U pistols Wesbecker had brought into the printing plant The 7.62mm rounds Mason used were among those found at the scene of the shooting. Instead of the ordinary civilian bullets consisting of soft metals, parrafin and other materials, these were copper-jacketed, steel-pointed projectiles preferred by the military because of their greater penetration capability, said Louisville Police Chief Richard Dotson. Although thousands of rounds of ammunition have been fired Inside the practice range, the three-quarter-inch steel backdrop of the range had remained almost perfectly smooth until yesterday.

Quarter-inch-deep dents were found, behind Mason's targets. Mason fired three shots from the AK-47 and about 20 from the MAC-lls, though Wesbecker did not use the MAC-lls Thursday. The test firing confirmed police beliefs that the guns were semiautomatic requiring a squeeze of the trigger to fire each round rather than fully automatic. Police posthumously charged Wesbecker Thursday night with seven counts of murder and 13 counts of first-degree assault Since Wesbecker is dead, the charges have little meaning other than as a way to Clear the case, Dotson said. According to the Jefferson County coroner, Dr.

Richard Greathouse, Wesbecker died of a brain laceration caused by a gunshot wound in the chin. Two of the men he killed William S. Ganote and Richard O. Barger were shot five times each. Lloyd R.

White had been shot twice. And the other four who died James F. Wible Sharon Needy, James G. "Buck" Husband and Paul S. Sallee had been shot once each.

Information for this story was also gathered by staff writer Leslie Scanlon. 1 Continued from Page One Louisville police Sgt Gene Wal-' (fridge, who has been Interviewing Wesbecker's relatives and looking into his background. "The big question Why? 'more than likely will never, ever be answered. You can't talk to that per-' son. You don't know what motivates them at the time," Waldridge said.

Police have heard reports that Wesbecker, 47, may have been a se- tidus gun collector, a survivalist and a reader of Soldier of Fortune mag-T-azine, but they haven't found anything to substantiate them, Waldridge said. But when police searched his near Iroquois Park Thursday night they found a Time magazine open to a story on assault weapons and recent murders committed with them. The magazine article, the cov-'er story of the issue, was titled in America: More guns, more shootings, more massacres." The magazine was dated Feb. 6, just four days before Wes-: ttecker bought two 9mm semiautomatic pistols known as MAC-lls, which he carried with him into Standard Gravure Thursday. Just eight days before he bought those guns, Standard Gravure had -placed Wesbecker on long-term disability because of his psychiatric problems meaning he might nev-, er have been allowed to return to work there.

Before he quit working on Aug. 8, 1988, Wesbecker apparently owned less fearsome weapons. Police found four guns at his home a shotgun and three pistols, Including a starter gun, said LI Jeff Moody. He also carried a revolv- er with him Thursday. But on Aug.

26, 1988 less than three weeks after he quit working Wesbecker bought a German-jnade semiautomatic 9mm pistol from Archery World Guns, 9113 Minors Lane. That's the gun he used to kill himself. "He might have made this decision last August. We don't know that," Waldridge said. On May 1, Wesbecker bought the AK-47 the gun he used to kill and "maim his former co-workers from Tilford's Gun Sales, 6708 Old Shepherdsville Road.

Store owner Jack Tilford said he recalled the sale because Wesbecker had also purchased the two 'MAC-lls from him. "I remember him well because we never stocked a MAC-11," Tilford said. He said Wesbecker came in with a picture of the gun and asked how much it would cost to order one. sell cheaper than anyone else," Tilford said. "So when I told him the price, he said, "Gosh, at that price, I'd like to have two of them." He paid $249 for each of them, Tilford said.

Tilford said he also had to order the AK-47 for Wesbecker in May. It $349. About two weeks after he picked it up, Wesbecker returned bought a case of ammunition 1,100 rounds for $139, Tilford said. was cheerful, polite and cleancut," Tilford said yesterday. Despite a history of mental 111-'ness, which included three suicide attempts, according to police, Wesbecker apparently was able to buy the guns without lying on federal forms that gun purchasers must fill out The form has eight questions, Including one on mental illness: "Have you ever been adjudicated mentally 'defective or have you ever been committed to a mental institution?" Wesbecker wrote in "No" on all forms he filled out at Til-ford's.

Prospective gun purchasers have answer "yes" to that question only if a judge has ruled them mentally incompetent, said Jack Kil-lorin, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms In Washington. Wesbecker had been hospitalized at Our Lady of Peace as recently as a year ago, according to police, but he apparently admitted himself voluntarily. An answer of "Yes" to the mental-illness question disqualifies a person from buying a gun. But Tilford said gun-shop owners have no way of confirming the validity of information regarding men- tal status. And Killorin acknowledged that the chance of someone who lies on the form will get caught is very slim because the forms are seldom checked.

"We have only 300-and-some ATF unity after said, "I just lost my sister with a heart attack a couple of weeks ago, so I know how they feel." "I basically came to pray for the gunman's family, because I understand what they must be going through, too," Mildred Davis said. "And they have to live with this for a very long time. They'll never get over it." "I think everybody lost somebody, at least Erazer Parker. A number of public officials attended the memorial service, in- eluding Louisville Mayor Jerry Ab- ramson, Jefferson County Judge- Executive Harvey Sloane and U. S.

Rep. Romano Mazzoli, D-3rd District "It was a tragedy for the community," said Sloane, who voiced his sympathy for the families. "Our hearts and prayers are with them." "The community is with them in this moment of terrible grief," echoed Mazzoli. Employees and former employees of Standard Gravure shared a spe Lloyd R. White Lloyd Ray "Whitey" White, 42, was a pressman for Standard Gravure.

He is survived by his wife, the former Maryla F. Johnston; two sons, Travis A. and Chet A. White; two daughters, Tammy and Julie M. White; his parents, Mr.

and Mrs. Emmett O. White of Leitchfield; three brothers, Kenneth E. White of Lexington, Tony White of Leitchfield and Joseph E. White; and five sisters, Martina Darst of Calvert City, Catherine Barnes of Eliza-; bethtown, Phyllis J.

Minton and Rita K. Hodges, both of Clarkson, and Janice Russell. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St Helen Catholic Church, 4005 Dixie Highway, with entombment in Louisville Memorial Gardens West Visitation will be at W.G. Hardy Shively Funeral Home, 4101 Dixie Highway, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

today and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow. The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the cross-country program at Holy Cross High School. Funeral arrangements set for five more victims STAFF PHOTOS BY DURELL HALL JR.

Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly, above, celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption In Louisville yesterday during a memorial service for the victims of the Standard Gravure shootings. Right, about 1,000 people attended the service. Archbishop By BILL WOLFE Religion Writer A reverent silence stilled the crowd in the Cathedral of the Assumption for a memorial service occasioned by the Standard Gravure shootings. Only the soft strains of the organ, the opening and closing of doors and the footsteps of a steady stream of communicants could be heard.

The gathering in the Roman Catholic cathedral at 443 S. Fifth St swelled from about 200 at 11 a.m., when an hour of prayer time began, to an estimated 1,000 by the time the service began at noon. It was a community coming together to share its grief and Its prayers. It was, as Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly said, "us at our finest." "We are numbed In our losses," Kelly said.

"Many of us who are here have a sense of being devastated and shattered with those who were injured and killed yesterday. But we also come together in the recollection that yesterday our city came together." Kelly noted the efforts of police, medical crews, blood donors and others. "Even in this most difficult and painful time, we can be together, we can have a sense of security, and even of victory," Kelly said. was a pressman for Standard Gravure. He Is survived by his wife, the former Linda Coryell; three sons, William S.

Robert A. and John B. Ganote; a sister, Anna K. Westbay; two brothers, Alfred B. Ganote Jr.

of Memphis, and Charles Ganote; and a grandchild. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Holy Name Catholic Church, 2914 S. Third St, with burial in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be at O.

D. White Sons Funeral Home, 2727 S. Third from 2 to 9 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

tomorrow. Sharon L. L. Needy Sharon Lee LaFollette Needy, 49, was a receptionist for Standard Gravure and a member of Louisville Wheelmen. She Is survived by a son, George T.

Needy of La Grange; two daughters, Jackie Tronzo of La Grange and Tracey L. Needy; her mother, Beverly B. LaFollette; two brothers, Terry LaFollette of Santa Claus, and J. Ronald LaFollette of Denver; and two grandchildren. tors had weighed its intended purpose against the anguish it would cause all the victims' families.

Some editors involved in the discussion disagreed, Hawpe said, but he decided to use the picture. Louisville and other cities have a problem with gun violence, Hawpe said. "I think it's very difficult for the public to realize what's at stake" without seeing the horrors easy access to weapons can cause, he said. Using the photograph served the same public purpose as some graphic pictures from Vietnam, which brought home some of the effects of U.S. policy there, Hawpe said.

cial sadness at the service. At the back of the cathedral, Terri Dattilo exchanged hugs with her co-workers. Dattilo, a secretary, came "face to face" with gunman Joseph T. Wesbecker after he had shot two women in the executive offices of the printing plant "The people turning out like this is what we need, but I don't know when I'll ever get over this," Dattilo said. "I'm angry and I'm sad.

I'm sick." "You think about this happening somewhere else, not in your community," said Sherry Hack, who worked at Standard Gravure until about four, months ago and knew many of those Wiled and injured. "When it does, it's just devastating for everyone." "I lay awake last night just wanting to see all the people that" I worked with," Hack said. The service "helped me relieve a lot of tension today that had been bottled up overnight," said William Kidd, a pressman who had left the Standard Gravure basement only moments before Wesbecker entered and began his shooting spree. "I was surprised that this many people appeared," Kidd said. "I think the community cares." Information for this story was also gathered by staff writer Calvin Miller.

Barger Ganote Husband Sallee White Wible and he asked If I wanted to prohibit use of the photo," Gill said. "I said no, I did not it was his call." Gill said using the photograph Is called for because "this Is something you can do something about" Gill said that he spoke yesterday to the widow of the man in the photograph and Hawpe spoke to the family. They were very offended by the picture, Gill said. "I extended our regard and sorrow to them." FXCf TTr 1 A small section of pews at the front of the sanctuary was reserved for those with close ties to the shooting victims. But many of the communicants had no connection other than their love and concern for the survivors.

William Ellis said he was at the cathedral to "offer prayers for the families of those who died, and those who are injured and for the family of the gunman, Elder Ben Higgins said at the cathedral: "Several families of us down here I live In the West End got together and had prayer, spe- cial prayer for them, although we don't know any of them. But tragedy has come to our home. All of us know what it is." Higgins, whose 26-year-old son was stabbed to death five years ago, said he may never meet the families, but "I'd like for them to know there are hundreds of us who are praying for them." Mary Davis, who attended the memorial service with her daughters, Mildred Davis and Mary Wilkins, Her funeral will be at 7 p.m. today at Ratterman's-Bardstown Road, 3800 Bardstown Road. The body will be cremated.

Visitation will be at the funeral home from 2 to 8 p.m. today. The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to Wesley Community House. Paul S. Sallee Paul S.

Sallee, 60, was a machinist for Standard Gravure, a former employee of Brown Williamson Tobacco Corp. and an Army veteran of the Korean War. He is survived by his wife, the former Juanita Crady; two daughters, Lisa A. Peters and Karen Bump; his mother, Ethel W. Sallee; a sister, Lois Mullaney; and four grandchildren.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church, Bardstown Road and Lancashire Avenue, with burial in Calvary Cemetery, Visitation will be at Highlands Funeral Home, 3331 Taylorsville Road, from 2 to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow. Some employees of the city's Emergency Medical Services unit who cared for the victims agreed with Hawpe, said Dick Bartlett, the agency's director. Those EMS employees said they approved of the use of the picture, Bartlett said, "because that one picture told the story.

It shows clearly what damage guns can do." However, Bartlett said that he and the majority of his workers felt it was too strong, especially for the family members and friends of the victims. The Rev. James O. Chatham, pastor of Highland Pr(jbyterian Funeral arrangements have been made for five more of the eight victims of Thursday's shooting at Standard Gravure Corp. Richard O.

Barger Richard O. Barger, 54, was a pressman for Standard Gravure and a native of Breckinridge County. He is survived by his wife, the former Roma Spencer; three sons, Richard O. Barger Jr. of Merritt Island, Kevin S.

and John B. Barger; his mother, Lena E. Barger; two brothers, Bruce Barger of Otisco, and Kenneth Barger; three sisters, Helen Cissell, Linda Barnes and Doris Headrick; and three grandchildren. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. today at Arch Heady Okolona Funeral Home, 8519 Preston Highway, with burial in Penn Run Memorial Park.

Visitation at the funeral home will be after 9 a.m. today. The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the Crusade for Children. William S. Ganote Sr.

William Spencer Ganote 46, page photograph of dead shooting victim brings protests C-J's front TtyBENZ. HERSHBERG Business Writer 4 A front-page photograph in yesterday's Courier-Journal of an unnamed dead victim of the shooting spree at Standard Gravure prompted several hundred calls protesting its use. 1 David Hawpe, the newspaper's editor, said the picture was Intended to accurately represent the event and heighten the community's awareness, but callers condemned it as insensitive and sensational. Stan Slusher, news ombudsman, said the paper received 353 com Church, and a proponent of stronger gun control, said in response to a reporter's question that the photograph's Impact on him differed from, what the newspaper had tended. v': "When I first saw it my first reaction was 'that's totally unnecessary and pointless and bordering on the he said.

"I'm so very sensitive to the responses of the grieving families." George N. Gill, president and publisher of The Courier-Journal, said he had talked about use of the photograph with Hawpe Thursday afternoon. "I listened to his 'rationale, plaints about the photo and seven saying running the picture was the right thing to do. "The prevailing theme is that we showed no compassion for the families" of the shooting victims, Slusher said. Many callers asked, "would you want to see a picture of your loved one, dead, in the paper?" Wayne Perkey, the morning show host at WHAS Radio, said he received many calls about the issue yesterday morning.

He estimated they ran about 8-to-l against using the photo. Hawpe defended use of the photograph, saying he ancV ther top edi.