One year ago today, one of the worst tragedies in state history happened and hundreds of people went to Hartford Distributors in Manchester on Wednesday to honor eight men who are shot and killed there.
Omar Thornton, a driver for HDI, gunned down eight coworkers before shooting and killing himself.
Thornton was at the company early that morning because he was suspected of stealing beer from the beer distributor and was being fired. After that meeting with company and union officials, he went on a rampage.
It took only three minutes, according to investigators, and changed the lives of many.
"It couldn't have happened at a worse time of day because you got the third shift going off, the first shift coming on, the office staff was there, the sales staff there," John Hollis, the Teamsters spokesman, said.
There are were heroic actions by of employees who tried to stop Thornton.
Among them is the story of Jerome Rosenstein, a 77-year-old West Hartford man, who went after Thornton in a golf cart and tried to run him down. He was shot several times as he pursued the shooter.
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Bryan Cirigliano, 51, of Newington, president of the local unit of the Teamsters union, was shot and killed when he ran toward Thornton and tried to stop him.
"He was a hero. He actually was the first encounter with Omar Thornton. He fought Omar Thornton and allowed about 16 people to escape from the room, including a woman in a wheelchair, and he was subsequently shot in the face, " Walter Edwards II, a friend of Cirigliano, said.
Witnesses described Thornton as calm and cool as he took lives. That chillingly calmness is heard in the 911 call he made identifying himself as the shooter.
For a year, the victims and families have lived with the horror of that day and this morning, they gathered to reflect and remember those lost.
"One of the reflections that really hits you is the sense of community that exists here," Ross Hollander, CEO of HDI, said.
A memorial garden with eight steel pillars now stands outside the gates of HDI in honor and memory of the victims -- fathers, grandfathers and coaches -- who were taken from their families and communities.
"The families have handled the situation with grace and dignity, and we couldn't be more proud of every single one of them," Hollander said.
The community found the funding for the memorial, which also includes a steel ribbon intertwined among the pillars to represent that they are all connected.
"Our thing was to really create a peaceful, serene area that they could really go, and the families of the victims could really go, and find some peace there," Kate Sims, chairperson of the project said.
The memorial was unveiled today and each pillar represents a victim.
Bill Ackerman's family wrote on his that their hearts will always ache.
They will all be honored as the garden is dedicated this morning.
