Salon.com > George M. Walsh

Autopsy: NY gunman shot self, not hit by police

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 19:34:00 +0000

The gunman who lured two firefighters to their deaths died of a self-inflicted shot to the head and wasn't hit by return fire from a police officer, New York State Police said Thursday.

But investigators still hadn't made a positive identification of the body found in William Spengler's burned house. They have said they believe the remains are those of his 67-year-old sister, Cheryl Spengler, who also lived in the house near Rochester.

Autopsies showed that West Webster volunteer firefighter Michael Chiapperini died of a single gunshot and Tomasz Kaczowka was killed by two, police said.

Spengler set a car on fire and touched off an "inferno" in his Webster home on a strip of land along the Lake Ontario shore, took up a sniper's position and opened fire on the first firefighters to arrive at about 5:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve, authorities said. He wounded two other firefighters and an off-duty police officer who was on his way to work.

A Webster police officer who had accompanied the firefighters shot back at Spengler with a rifle in a brief exchange of gunfire before the gunman killed himself.

New York gunman: Off to “do what I like doing best, killing people”

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:42:00 +0000

The ex-con turned sniper who killed two firefighters wanted to make sure his goodbye note was legible, typing out his desire to "do what I like doing best, killing people" before setting the house where he lived with his sister ablaze, police said.

Police Chief Gerald Pickering said Tuesday that the 62-year-old loner, William Spengler, brought plenty of ammunition with him for three weapons including a military-style assault rifle as he set out on a quest to burn down his neighborhood just before sunrise on Christmas Eve.

And when firefighters arrived to stop him, he unleashed a torrent of bullets, shattering the windshield of the fire truck that volunteer firefighter and police Lt. Michael Chiapperini, 43, drove to the scene. Fellow firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka, 19, who worked as a 911 dispatcher, was killed as well.

Two other firefighters were struck by bullets, one in the pelvis and the other in the chest and knee. They remained hospitalized in stable condition and were expected to survive.

On Tuesday, investigators found a body in the Spengler home, presumably that of the sister a neighbor said Spengler hated: 67-year-old Cheryl Spengler. Spengler's penchant for death had surfaced before. He served 17 years in prison for manslaughter in the 1980 hammer slaying of his grandmother.

“Ding dong ditch” victim retaliates, faces charges

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:30:00 +0000

A homeowner in his underwear chased down and tackled a 14-year-old who was pulling a late-night prank called the "ding dong ditch," leading to charges against the homeowner but not the teen.

The teen was bloodied by the takedown. The homeowner, Daniel Van Plew, and the boy's family disagree over the amount of force used and about where the tackle happened occurred, which could make a difference under the laws that define self-defense.

Van Plew, 37, told police in this upscale suburb south of New York's capital city that he was preparing to go to bed shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday when four teenagers pounded on his back door, rang his front doorbell and then ran.

Fearing for the safety of his two children and his wife, Van Plew chased after the teens, caught the 14-year-old and then made him wait in his home while he called police. The teen suffered a cut on his elbow, a bruise over his eye and a bloody lip, according to the police report.

Van Plew caught the boy on his property, according to a police report, but the boy's father told a newspaper that the boy was tackled off the property. New York self-defense laws give people more leeway when defending themselves on their own property.