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Mayor Mike Swoboda was wounded as two city councilors, the public works director and two police officers were murdered by Charles Thornton, a local construction contractor. Thornton, in turn, was killed by a third police officer. All three networks assigned reporters to cover the carnage. ABC's Chris Bury (embargoed link) called Thornton a "disgruntled contractor known for fighting City Hall" and NBC's Michelle Kosinski reported that he had been "cited by the city repeatedly for parking violations" and felt he was "being harassed." Mused CBS' Cynthia Bowers: "It was no secret that some of the council members were afraid of Thornton's temper and even considered banning him from public meetings but in the end decided, as a fellow citizen, he had a right to show up and voice his opinion."
In Tornado Alley, NBC's Ron Mott told us that there are still 200 residents of Macon County alone still unaccounted for: "The hope is that many have simply gone to stay with friends or relatives." In all 217 tornado warnings were issued in a single 24-hour period, however, "sirens are not as common in rural areas as bigger cities because residents are scattered far and wide." The death toll from Tuesday's storm is expected to reach 60.
CBS kicked off with Kelly Cobiella from Fort Wentworth Ga where highly combustible sugar dust probably triggered Thursday night's explosion and fire. There were 120 workers in the plant at the time: four are known to be dead; 32 hospitalized, many "burned so badly that they may not survive." NBC's Martin Savidge called it a "horrible scene" with workers "dazed and badly burned and stumbling through the ruins." Cobiella reported that firefighting crews are coping with "collapsed walls and as mush as eight feet of water because pipes burst during the explosion."
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