Loner shoots democratic party boss after losing job

POLICE were struggling yesterday to explain why a man described as a loner drove more than 50km to Arkansas’ Democratic Party headquarters and fatally shot its chairman — a close friend of Hillary and Bill Clinton — hours after getting fired from his job.

Police said Timothy Dale Johnson, 50, of Searcy, barged into Bill Gwatney’s office on Wednesday and shot him multiple times. There were no signs that Gwatney and Johnson, who was later shot dead by officers, knew each other.

A Target retail store in Conway had fired Johnson early on Wednesday because he had written graffiti on a wall, police said. Before noon, Johnson was in Gwatney’s office in Little Rock with a handgun.

After the shooting, Johnson sped away in a truck, stopped seven blocks away at the Arkansas State Baptist Convention and pointed a gun at the building’s manager, police said. When asked what was wrong, the gunman said “I lost my job,” according to Dan Jordan, the church group’s business manager.

Officers chased the suspect to Sheridan, 50kms south of Little Rock. The suspect emerged from his truck and began shooting at deputies and state troopers, who returned fire. Johnson later died at a hospital.

Little Rock police Lt Terry Hastings didn’t say what the men discussed after Johnson entered Gwatney’s office but said it was not a heated exchange.

“They introduced themselves, and at that time he pulled out a handgun and shot Chairman Gwatney several times,” he said.

Police said they could find no criminal record for Johnson.

Because of his position in the state party, Gwatney was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention this month in Denver. He declared his support for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton after the Arkansas primary in February but endorsed Barack Obama after Clinton dropped out of the presidential race.

Obama said: “Michelle and I are heartbroken to hear about the tragic loss of Chairman Bill Gwatney. We’re praying for his family and friends and all who worked with him and loved him.”