Associated Press
Police and emergency medical personnel stand around the suspect in Friday’s workplace shooting in Portage.
Furthermore …
Shooting shows folly of letting workers keep guns in cars
The day after the Indiana General Assembly approved a bill that would allow people to take weapons to work if the guns are kept out of sight in a locked vehicle, an angry state employee grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun from his car, returned to his office and shot out the front door, chased employees out the back doors and fired another shot into the back of the building.
The 60-year-old auditor then followed employees as they scattered around the building before returning to the front of the office and surrendering when police arrived with guns drawn.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the attack on the Portage office of the Department of Workforce Development. But it was a frightening example of why guns and workplaces don’t mix. The man was reportedly unhappy with a poor performance review.
“I told them this was going to happen,” Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, told the Times of Northwest Indiana. “It’s not a good law to allow people to bring guns that close to work. If you have a chance to go home, you might cool off.”
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce, another critic of the legislation, also took note of the incident. It is urging its members to contact Gov. Mitch Daniels, who hasn’t yet signed House Bill 1065.
Daniels didn’t commit to doing so when asked by reporters on Friday, before the Portage shooting. Perhaps the workplace shooting will have as strong an influence on the governor as the lobbying efforts by the National Rifle Association seemed to have on lawmakers.
Hoosier Park’s bankruptcy includes three state OTBs
Most of the attention regarding the bankruptcy filing of Centaur LLC concerned the Hoosier Park racino in Anderson and a casino the company owns in Colorado. It should also be noted that the Hoosier Park holdings include the Fort Wayne OTB as well as off-track betting centers in Merrillville and downtown Indianapolis.
Though Centaur incurred a heavy expenditure of $250 million to buy slot-machine licenses from the state to turn its Anderson race park into a racino, the company has said it is the ongoing taxes it pays to Indiana that is the real financial burden.
The racino pays a higher rate than the state’s riverboats to help support the horse industry.
Centaur’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing allows it to restructure its debt, and the OTBs and Anderson racino will continue operations as usual.
The company still plans to develop a racino in western Pennsylvania, but its Colorado casino will go up for sale.
With the owner of the Gary riverboats also in bankruptcy, the evidence supports efforts to block any expansion of gambling in the state.