Spring Break
Gunman kills self, firefighter in Wendy's shooting
Mar. 4, 2008
Adam H. Beasley, Ani Martinez and Martin Merzer - McClatchy NewspapersIssue date: 2/28/08 Section: MCT News
MIAMI _ He saved countless lives and he lost his over a promotional toy from a fast-foot kids meal _ shot in the back at point blank range during a gunman's inexplicable rampage.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Lt. Rafael Vazquez returned Monday to a Wendy's restaurant to collect a toy missing from his 4-year-old son's meal. He died when a man wearing a sports jacket and holding a gun sideways, as in a gangster movie, sprayed the lunchtime crowd with bullets.
Vazquez, known to his friends as Ray, was 42. He and his wife, a police officer, were raising five children.
"It was random," Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, said of the shooting. "There was no robbery attempt, no demands."
The assailant _ identified by authorities as Alburn Blake, 60, of West Palm Beach _ wounded four other people before turning the 9mm handgun on himself and committing suicide in the fast-food restaurant a few miles from his home.
Other customers scattered and ran for their lives, including some who left their cars idling at the drive-through window or in the parking lot.
"My sister tried to run away, but he shot her anyway," Kachi Soto said of her 16-year-old sister, Vanessa, who was struck by a bullet and hospitalized.
The barrage of gunfire came without warning, without apparent provocation and without a known motive, authorities said. The gunman said nothing and had an empty look on his face, but his hands were shaking, according to witnesses.
Little was known about Blake, though authorities believe he was unemployed, separated from his wife and lived alone. He had no criminal record in the state, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Authorities said they inspected his "neat and clean" home in an apartment complex and found no suicide note. Neighbors, however, said they saw officers remove a clear plastic bag filled with prescription medicine bottles.
"I'm in shock," said one neighbor, Betsy White. "He looked like he was just a normal senior citizen."
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Lt. Rafael Vazquez returned Monday to a Wendy's restaurant to collect a toy missing from his 4-year-old son's meal. He died when a man wearing a sports jacket and holding a gun sideways, as in a gangster movie, sprayed the lunchtime crowd with bullets.
Vazquez, known to his friends as Ray, was 42. He and his wife, a police officer, were raising five children.
"It was random," Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, said of the shooting. "There was no robbery attempt, no demands."
The assailant _ identified by authorities as Alburn Blake, 60, of West Palm Beach _ wounded four other people before turning the 9mm handgun on himself and committing suicide in the fast-food restaurant a few miles from his home.
Other customers scattered and ran for their lives, including some who left their cars idling at the drive-through window or in the parking lot.
"My sister tried to run away, but he shot her anyway," Kachi Soto said of her 16-year-old sister, Vanessa, who was struck by a bullet and hospitalized.
The barrage of gunfire came without warning, without apparent provocation and without a known motive, authorities said. The gunman said nothing and had an empty look on his face, but his hands were shaking, according to witnesses.
Little was known about Blake, though authorities believe he was unemployed, separated from his wife and lived alone. He had no criminal record in the state, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Authorities said they inspected his "neat and clean" home in an apartment complex and found no suicide note. Neighbors, however, said they saw officers remove a clear plastic bag filled with prescription medicine bottles.
"I'm in shock," said one neighbor, Betsy White. "He looked like he was just a normal senior citizen."
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