OKLAHOMA CITY - Police said that the shooter in Tuesday's deadly shooting at Will Rogers World Airport was a former airline employee and that the motive was likely retaliation.
Oklahoma City Police Department Captain Paco Balderrama identified Lloyd Dean Buie as the suspect. Buie, 45, was found dead in the garage as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Southwest Airlines employee, Michael Winchester, 52, was shot just after noon in a parking garage at the airport.
Buie, according to police, was a former Southwest Airlines employee. Southwest officials say he resigned in April of 2015 after he showed symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol, and the company asked him to take an alcohol test. The airline said he declined to take the test and resigned.
Police believe the crime was premeditated and that Buie armed himself and went to the airport with the intent to shoot someone. Authorities do not know if Winchester was the intended target. They also believe it is possible Buie acted in retaliation for circumstances leading up to his resignation.
Balderrama said Winchester, who was not Buie's immediate supervisor, was shot from 50 yards away with a rifle as he was leaving work and walking to his car.
Officials said Buie had a military background, and records show he served in the U.S. Army from 1992 to 1999. He was deployed at least once to Macedonia.
Michael WInchester was a former OU football player, playing for Barry Switzer's Sooners in the 1980s. His only son, James Winchester currently plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. The team offered its condolences to the family during a media conference on Wednesday.
Will Rogers World Airport resumed normal operations Wednesday.
Winchester was a Southwest Airlines employee, and played football for the University of Oklahoma.
His son James Winchester also played for OU, and now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The CEO of Southwest Airlines tweeted his condolences.
We lost a cherished Southwest Employee today in an act of violence in Oklahoma City. (1/2)
— Gary Kelly (@gary_kelly) November 16, 2016
You all can rest assured that we will do everything we can to support Mike's family. (2/2)
— Gary Kelly (@gary_kelly) November 16, 2016
Senators James Lankford and Jim Inhofe also tweeted condolences.
2 Works For You will have updates on the incident as they become available on air and here on KJRH.com.
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