Man Wounds Three, Kills Self at Casino
B I L O X I, Miss., Jan. 14 -- An Alabama man shot and wounded threepeople before fatally shooting himself at a busy Gulf Coast casinoSaturday night, according to Biloxi police.
Police said Sylvester McConnell, 48, of Mobile, Ala., wasplaying the high-stakes slot machines at Casino Magic at about 11p.m. local time and suddenly began shooting. After shooting two men andone woman, he shot himself in the head.
Hundreds of people filled the three-floor casino when McConnell opened fire on the second floor, sending patrons and workers into a panic as they sought cover.
"It was mass confusion," said Capt. Steve Patterson of theBiloxi Police Dept.
American Medical Response, an emergency medical unit, saidMcConnell was pronounced dead at Biloxi Regional Medical Center.
Patterson said two handguns were found at the scene and AMRworkers said another handgun was found on the man at the hospital.
A Harried Scene
The conditions of the three shooting victims were not immediately released, but AMR said one man was in surgery at BiloxiRegional Medical Center with a head injury.
The woman had been taken to the X-ray unit at Biloxi MedicalCenter and the other man was taken to an operating room at ahospital in nearby Ocean Springs.
Officials said the names of the victims would be releasedtoday.
AMR said 12 other people had been taken to area hospitals withstress related ailments such as chest pains, and other injuriesapparently sustained during the mass scramble to get out of thecasino.
Five ambulances made a total of 10 trips to transport the 16wounded or injured to area hospitals.
About 40 police officers and members of the Mississippi HighwayPatrol responded to the scene and the majority of the casino wasevacuated.
Nine evidence investigators were working at the scene earlythis morning and witnesses said blood covered the floor in thearea where the shooting occurred.
Police said one bullet went through a wall and punctured a slotMachine.
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