Thornton carried two 9 mm handguns to Hartford Distributors inside his lunch box Tuesday and left a shotgun in his car, police said. At a disciplinary hearing, he watched video that showed him stealing beer and then resigned after being asked whether he wanted to quit or be fired.
He then asked for a drink of water and went to a kitchenette where his lunch box was, Manchester police Lt. Christopher Davis said Wednesday. He took out his guns, walked out into the hall and began shooting immediately, Davis said. All the weapons were registered, he said.
The first people shot were managers or executives involved in Thornton's firing, Davis said. It's not clear whether every victim was targeted or whether some were shot randomly, Davis said.
Thornton left the office area and went into a large section of the warehouse where more victims were found, Davis said. He chased one or more of them outside into a parking lot, shot a locked glass door to get back into the building and continued shooting.
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One man who was fatally shot tried to evade Thornton on a forklift, which crashed into an electrical conduit and started a small fire, Davis said.
Thornton also passed by at least two people and did not shoot them, Davis said, including one woman in a wheelchair. In all, Thornton killed eight people and wounded two others.
Finally, Thornton called his mother to say goodbye, said his uncle Wilbert Holliday. Thornton, who is black, had complained of racial harassment for months to family and friends and indicated he did target people - but because they had harassed him.
"I shot the racists that was bothering me," he told his mother.
Police found Thornton dead in an office.
Davis revealed Wednesday that the company had hired a private investigator to follow Thornton outside of work for a few weeks after becoming suspicious that he was stealing. The amount of beer Thornton took wasn't clear.
Holliday said his nephew told his family that he was the only black employee at the company. None of the victims were black, Davis said.
People who knew Thornton say there was no indication he was planning a mass shooting. But, they say he had been complaining about racism, saying he found a picture of a noose and a racial epithet written on a bathroom wall at work.
According to his girlfriend's mother, Joanne Hannah, Thornton said complaints to supervisors went unanswered.
"I think he just had his breaking point," she said. "He had enough of it. He called his mother...saying that he shot five people and that he loved his mother, tell my daughter that he loved her."
Friends and family of those who died said they couldn't imagine their loved ones doing what Thornton said, and the company and union said Thornton never reported any harassment.
Among the people shot were several in positions of responsibility at Hartford Distributors.
Steve Hollander, 50, was a member of the family that owns the company and met with Thornton at the disciplinary hearing. Hollander was shot twice but survived.
His 911 call was released Wednesday. On it, he said "Omar Thornton's shooting people." He described the shooter's clothing and said the gunman was carrying a "red lunch bag."
He said he had just fired Thornton before the shooting.
The painful process of saying goodbye to the victims began on Wednesday evening.
At least 500 people attended the funeral for 50-year-old Louis Felder at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford. The service took place one day after his death, in accordance with his beliefs as an Orthodox Jew.
Rabbi Elly Krimsky told of how Felder's father was fixing a car and it fell on him. Felder lifted the front end to rescue him.
Two Metro-North Railroad trains passing alongside the cemetery stopped and blew their whistles as a tribute. The funeral director says he'd never seen that happen in 30 years.
The dead also included Bryan Cirigliano, 51, of Newington. He was the president of Teamsters 1035 and had been Thornton's representative at the hearing. Another slain worker, Louis Felder, was operations director, according to The Stamford Advocate.
Other victims were Doug Scruton, 56; Bill Ackerman, 51; Francis Fazio Jr., 57; Edwin Kennison, 49; Craig Pepin, 60; and Victor James, 60.
Jerome Rosenstein, 77, was wounded and in serious condition Wednesday at Hartford Hospital.
Kristi Hannah, 26, Thornton's girlfriend of eight years, said he had told her months ago that he was racially harassed, and he showed her photos he took with his cell phone.
Brett Hollander, who also works at Hartford Distributors, has denied any charges of racism.
"I can assure you there has never been any racial discrimination at our company," he said.
Said Hannah: "He was being racially profiled and no one would listen to him."
Hannah said Thornton gave her a long hug and kiss goodbye on the morning of the shooting. He looked dazed and confused, so she asked him whether something was wrong, but he said no.
"I think he did it because of the racial stuff," she said, adding that Thornton "said he was very hurt."
One driver at the company who was killed, Kennison, had mentioned Thornton before but never in a derogatory way, said Mark McCorrison, a close friend. Kennison was not the type to make bigoted remarks, he said.
"I can tell you right now: Eddie is not that person," McCorrison said.
Pepin, also a driver, was never angry, let alone someone who showed any hint of racism or bigotry, said a neighbor who knew him for 25 years.
"Craig, who was active as a coach in town with all kids - all races of kids - for years, he didn't care. He just worked with the kids," Ted Jenny said. "There was no way Craig Pepin was racist."
Steve Hollander told the AP on Tuesday that the people Thornton targeted appeared to be "absolutely random."
"He killed so many good people today for absolutely no reason at all. People who've never said an unkind word to him," he said. "He was just shooting at anyone that was near him and just cruelty beyond cruelty."
Hartford Distributors never had any complaints filed against it, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities said.
The company was meeting privately with employees on Wednesday, Brett Hollander said. He said other beer distributors had offered to make deliveries for Hartford Distributors while the warehouse is shut down.
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Information from The Associated Press is included in this story.
