On a tragic Tuesday morning in Manchester, Connecticut, Louis Felder, a 50-year-old Caucasian male, was killed in a devastating act of workplace violence. The events unfolded on August 3, 2010, at Hartford Distributors, a beer distribution company where Felder served as the director of operations. Remembered as a man full of life and always smiling, his day began like any other, unaware of the horror that would soon transpire.
A loving husband to his wife, Helen, and a devoted father to his three children, two teenage daughters and a son, Felder was a respected member of his Stamford community and an active participant in the city's Orthodox Jewish community.
The perpetrator of this senseless violence was identified as Omar S. Thornton, a 34-year-old driver for the company. Earlier that morning, Thornton had been called into a disciplinary hearing regarding allegations of him stealing from the company. After being asked to resign, Thornton unleashed a deadly rampage, opening fire on his colleagues. In the ensuing chaos, Louis Felder was one of eight employees fatally shot before Thornton turned the gun on himself, ending his own life.
In the aftermath of the shooting, there was no arrest to be made as the suspect had committed suicide at the scene. The investigation that followed focused on the motives behind Thornton's horrific actions. In a 911 call made during the incident, Thornton alleged a racially charged atmosphere at the company. However, the focus for the families of the victims, including the Felders, was on grieving their profound loss. Friends and neighbors recalled Felder as a down-to-earth and reliable family man, often seen playing basketball with his children on Saturdays. His sudden and violent death sent shockwaves through his close-knit community, leaving a void in the lives of all who knew him. Hundreds of mourners gathered to honor his memory at a funeral service, remembering a man who was a leader both at work and at home, and whose life was tragically cut short.
