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CNN Live Today

Workplace Massacre

Aired August 29, 2003 - 11:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Associated Press reporter Tara Burghart interviewed Sanchez at length, and she joins us now from our Chicago bureau.
Tara, thank you for talking with us about this story.

We watched it play out live here on the air the other day. Give us an idea of what Mr. Sanchez is going through right now.

TARA BURGHART, ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER: Sure.

Mr. Sanchez says he feels guilt that he wasn't able to alert coworkers that Topia (ph) was in the building and was preparing to kill them one by one as they came to work.

HARRIS: So he knew immediately what was going to happen to his coworkers.

BURGHART: He said he arrived about 8:00 a.m. at the warehouse. He was about to change into his work clothes and put his lunch away when Topia gave him this choice of be tied up or die. Topia told him one of his coworkers, one of the owner's sons was already dead, and that I want to kill everyone. He did tell Mr. Sanchez that after he tied him up to a railing.

HARRIS: But did he tell him why?

BURGHART: He did not really explain why. He did say to Sanchez, I don't have anything against you, I'm going to kill everyone else, I want to kill them all, but he did not really talk much more to Mr. Sanchez about the motive.

HARRIS: Did he talk to you about Mr. Topia's past? did he ever have a sense this man was capable of doing something like this?

BURGHART: My colleague Nate Hernandez actually conducted the interview with Mr. Sanchez at length in Spanish, which is a language he is more comfortable with. Mr. Sanchez said Topia was always nervous and irritable at work, but he didn't see any sign of something like this. Topia had been fired six months earlier for just being a bad employee, not showing up, causing trouble at work.

HARRIS: And that is the only thing that happened to make this man snap? Did he say whether or not he had problems in his personal life that may have contributed to this, or was he somebody who just lost it? BURGHART: Sanchez said that him and Topia had a cordial relationship at work. They would talk, but certainly did not have a friendship enough for Mr. Sanchez to know much about Topia's outside life. Police have said their investigation turned up to Topia did make several threatening phone calls to the owners in the past several weeks, but no police reports were filed.

HARRIS: Tara, what did he tell you about how he got out? As I understand it, he was tied up, hands tied behind his back. How was he able to get out of the building and then find someone else and then call the police?

BURGHART: He said there was enough slack in the rope that he was able to work his hands free in from this railing that he was tied to. He was near the basement. He went through the basement, climbed some stairs to the office where he did see two of the bodies, was able to get out through the only real way in and out of the building and ran into another coworker on his way in, and they together alerted police.

HARRIS: What happens to him now? Obviously the company can't function. What happens Mr. Sanchez?

BURGHART: Well, there is a third owner that survived the shooting because he was late to work due to an expressway crash. It's really unclear right now what the future is for the business. As for Mr. Sanchez, he is glad to be alive. He has three children he is close to, but he's feeling a lot of guilt.

HARRIS: All right. That's a tough situation to be in. You have to feel for him. Tara Burghart, thank you very much. We appreciate you coming on and telling the story.

BURGHART: Thank you.

HARRIS: Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 29, 2003 - 11:20   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Associated Press reporter Tara Burghart interviewed Sanchez at length, and she joins us now from our Chicago bureau.
Tara, thank you for talking with us about this story.

We watched it play out live here on the air the other day. Give us an idea of what Mr. Sanchez is going through right now.

TARA BURGHART, ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER: Sure.

Mr. Sanchez says he feels guilt that he wasn't able to alert coworkers that Topia (ph) was in the building and was preparing to kill them one by one as they came to work.

HARRIS: So he knew immediately what was going to happen to his coworkers.

BURGHART: He said he arrived about 8:00 a.m. at the warehouse. He was about to change into his work clothes and put his lunch away when Topia gave him this choice of be tied up or die. Topia told him one of his coworkers, one of the owner's sons was already dead, and that I want to kill everyone. He did tell Mr. Sanchez that after he tied him up to a railing.

HARRIS: But did he tell him why?

BURGHART: He did not really explain why. He did say to Sanchez, I don't have anything against you, I'm going to kill everyone else, I want to kill them all, but he did not really talk much more to Mr. Sanchez about the motive.

HARRIS: Did he talk to you about Mr. Topia's past? did he ever have a sense this man was capable of doing something like this?

BURGHART: My colleague Nate Hernandez actually conducted the interview with Mr. Sanchez at length in Spanish, which is a language he is more comfortable with. Mr. Sanchez said Topia was always nervous and irritable at work, but he didn't see any sign of something like this. Topia had been fired six months earlier for just being a bad employee, not showing up, causing trouble at work.

HARRIS: And that is the only thing that happened to make this man snap? Did he say whether or not he had problems in his personal life that may have contributed to this, or was he somebody who just lost it? BURGHART: Sanchez said that him and Topia had a cordial relationship at work. They would talk, but certainly did not have a friendship enough for Mr. Sanchez to know much about Topia's outside life. Police have said their investigation turned up to Topia did make several threatening phone calls to the owners in the past several weeks, but no police reports were filed.

HARRIS: Tara, what did he tell you about how he got out? As I understand it, he was tied up, hands tied behind his back. How was he able to get out of the building and then find someone else and then call the police?

BURGHART: He said there was enough slack in the rope that he was able to work his hands free in from this railing that he was tied to. He was near the basement. He went through the basement, climbed some stairs to the office where he did see two of the bodies, was able to get out through the only real way in and out of the building and ran into another coworker on his way in, and they together alerted police.

HARRIS: What happens to him now? Obviously the company can't function. What happens Mr. Sanchez?

BURGHART: Well, there is a third owner that survived the shooting because he was late to work due to an expressway crash. It's really unclear right now what the future is for the business. As for Mr. Sanchez, he is glad to be alive. He has three children he is close to, but he's feeling a lot of guilt.

HARRIS: All right. That's a tough situation to be in. You have to feel for him. Tara Burghart, thank you very much. We appreciate you coming on and telling the story.

BURGHART: Thank you.

HARRIS: Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com