Andrew Engeldinger

Background

Andrew John Engeldinger was a former employee of Accent Signage Systems. He had been fired from his job and responded immediately after being told he was losing his job.

The offence

A shooting occurred at Accent Signage Systems, a sign-making business in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, west of Interstate 394. The shooting took place inside the firm, where Engeldinger walked into the building and fired shots.

Engeldinger took out a Glock 19 9mm handgun from his holster and opened fire after telling someone, "oh really." The first 911 phone calls made from the business were at 4:35 p.m., when someone called in saying gunshots were being fired. Police reports later described the firing as lasting no more than 10 or 15 minutes.

Police later found Engeldinger dead in a warehouse in the workplace's basement. His death resulted from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Victims were killed during the attack, including the company founder Reuven Rahamim, a UPS driver, and multiple employees identified by the medical examiner's office. Eric Rivers died later from gunshot wounds.

Investigation

Police received multiple 911 calls from inside the business. When police arrived, they heard no shots. Officers entered the building and escorted some people out.

Police searched Engeldinger's home and found medications commonly prescribed for depression and insomnia. Police also found prescription bottles for two anti-depressant medications, Mirtazapine and Trazodone, and for Temazepam. Police found many empty prescription bottles, including 18 empty prescription bottles for a generic form of the anti-depressant drug Wellbutrin. All of the prescription bottles bore Engeldinger's name. The report did not list the dates of the prescriptions or the names of prescribing physicians. Police did not find any anti-psychotic medications, which are commonly prescribed for schizophrenia, in Engeldinger's home.

Engeldinger's mother, Carolyn Engeldinger, told police the family had a history of schizophrenia. Family members said Engeldinger refused psychiatric treatment and had never been diagnosed with a mental illness, and they said he stopped talking to them about two years ago when he became increasingly paranoid and delusional. Authorities had not said whether mental illness played a role in the killing.

Police also received information about Engeldinger’s interest in guns beginning about a year before the attack. Minneapolis Police Sgt. Michael Chiappetta said he recognized Engeldinger as a frequent customer at the Burnsville Rifle and Pistol Range. Chiappetta said Engeldinger appeared to be a "new shooter and was trying to gain proficiency shooting," according to the report. Burnsville Rifle and Pistol Range owner Roger Hird said Engeldinger started coming to the range about a year earlier and had practiced there 44 times, most recently on July 29. Hird said the range temporarily closed down a few days later due to a fire.

Investigators searched the south Minneapolis house Engeldinger owned and occupied and found another gun and packaging for 10,000 rounds of ammunition. The investigation used a 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol he had owned for about a year, according to Police Chief Tim Dolan.

Arrest

No arrest was described because Engeldinger died by suicide at the scene.

Trial

No trial proceedings were described.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Five people were dead by the end of the day, including the gunman, and four others were injured, three critically. One of those critically injured died the following day, and another man succumbed to his wounds on October 10. Rivers was taken off life support when he succumbed to his wounds on October 10.

The attack was described as the deadliest workplace shooting in Minnesota's history.

Aftermath

Governor Mark Dayton described the shooting as "senseless," and said that "there is no place for it anywhere in Minnesota." Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak visited Accent Signage along with U.S. Representative Keith Ellison not long before the shooting. Rybak stated, "we are deeply sorry about what has happened here," and adding that it was "a horrible tragedy".

Eric Rivers died at Hennepin County Medical Center. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office said Rivers died of gunshot wounds and his death was a homicide.

Family statements and police statements also described the impact and response:

"We are grateful for the incredible courage displayed by the men and women who responded to the emergency and the wonderful medical team at Hennepin County Medical Center, who cared for Eric," the family said in a statement.
"At this time, the family asks for privacy as we deal with this personal tragedy. We thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers."

Other details

Engeldinger was identified as Andrew John Engeldinger, a 36-year-old Minneapolis resident.

Engeldinger’s personnel file and reports about the firing described shortcomings on the job, including the quality of his work, showing up late, and problems in his dealings with other employees.

A reporter described police interviews with Engeldinger's parents, where they said he struggled with mental illness for years and shut them out of his life for nearly two years before the attack. Engeldinger's father said Engeldinger was "competitive and liked things done by the book." He also said Engeldinger was made fun of as a teenager for having "a high level of intelligence." The father said Engeldinger went through a drug rehab program in his late teens or early 20s. Both parents said Engeldinger had "no known friends" and did not have a girlfriend.

In police accounts about the attack, Engeldinger shot two managers, John Souter and Rami Cooks, as they were terminating him at the end of his workday on September 27. Police described an ensuing struggle in Souter's office, including that around nine shots were fired and that a magazine with about seven live rounds fell to the floor. Souter was shot in the chest but was able to leave his office as the struggle moved into the hallway and asked for someone to call 911. Souter remained hospitalized and was later described as in satisfactory condition.

Rami Cooks was shot several times, including at least once in the head, but remained on his feet and later died at a hospital.

Company owner and founder Reuven Rahamim came out of his office next door and was on the ground trying to help a wounded employee just before Engeldinger fatally shot him. Engeldinger shot Rahamim twice in the head at close range, according to an executive assistant’s account.

Witness descriptions included that Engeldinger's demeanor was described as calm, and witnesses said he did not "appear to be moving fast but walking and moving in a normal manner." Reports also described Engeldinger walking past women and continuing toward another part of the building before starting to fire again, while leaving women alone.

Police described shootings in different locations: Engeldinger shot Jacob Beneke in the sign display area, and shot Ron Edberg and UPS driver Keith Basinski in the loading dock. All three men died.

Other people wounded but surviving included a person released from Hennepin County Medical Center on September 28 and another person who was in critical condition or serious condition in subsequent updates, with names not identified in the provided material.

Police Chief Tim Dolan described that Engeldinger was fired that morning, then returned about 4:25 p.m. and that the attack lasted no more than 10 or 15 minutes. Dolan said Engeldinger may have chosen to spare some former co-workers and also said, "It's clear he did walk by some people, very clear," adding "He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," about Basinski. Dolan said police found two people hiding "a very long time" after the attack began and that there was no security at the building. Dolan described Accent as a large building with many rooms branching off.

Gun purchase details included an account that the gun used was purchased in October 2011 from KGS Guns and Ammo in Minneapolis. Mark Koscielski told The Associated Press he sold Engeldinger the gun, recalling the price as around $620, after Engeldinger filled out a permit-to-purchase application with police and passed an FBI check. Koscielski said, "He just came in a few times to window-shop, but that's about it." Police also described that Engeldinger ordered 12,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition from the website of SGAmmo from Oct. 15, 2011 to July 9, 2012 and paid $2,704.32.

Engeldinger’s uncle, Joe Engeldinger, called him a "good kid" and said he seemed normal and well-adjusted until about two years earlier, when he broke off contact with his entire family. Joe Engeldinger said Andrew lived with him for a time in the early 1990s after graduating high school and worked for him renovating old houses. Joe Engeldinger described Andrew as a "good worker" and said, "I never didn't trust him with anything." Joe Engeldinger said Andrew graduated from high school but did not attend college.

A neighbor, Thomas Pitheon, said he sometimes exchanged greetings with Engeldinger and said Engeldinger "put two and two together" after hearing about the shooting and then finding "about a dozen" SWAT teams swarming around Engeldinger's house. Pitheon said Engeldinger seemed like an average guy, saying, "We just said hi, how you doing, that sort of thing," and "He seemed like an average guy."

Local residents and bystanders provided statements describing the incident’s immediate effects, including reports that Interstate 394 exits were closed, slowing traffic, and that residents heard gunshots and ran for their cars.

Mayor R.T. Rybak had previously stated that he and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison had visited Accent Signage because it was held up as a national model for exporting practices.