Dallas

2 Dead in Murder, Suicide at Dallas Office Building: Police

Building declared safe at 12:49 p.m.; officer injured by glass, police say

What to Know

  • Man enters his workplace, fatally shoots his female supervisor in a meeting room before turning the gun on himself, police say.
  • Witnesses to the shooting in the meeting room were not injured.
  • Police fired only one shot, a shotgun blast to shatter a glass door to gain access to the office space. One officer injured, cut by glass.

A man and woman are dead following a workplace-related murder-suicide at a North Dallas office building Monday morning, Dallas police said.

During a news conference Monday afternoon, Assistant Chief Randy Blankenbaker said a man entered the building and killed a woman who was his supervisor before he turned the gun on himself.

He added the shooting took place in a meeting room and that there were other employees present who were not injured.

The Dallas Medical Examiner identified the deceased as 48-year-old Lana McAree, of Sulphur Springs, and 60-year-old Matthew Kempf, of Allen. (McAree was recently married and, out of respect for her family, her married name is Lana Canada, per the Dallas police.)

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said earlier in the morning that police and firefighters were dispatched to the building along the Interstate 635 service road near Schroeder Road at about 10:45 a.m. [[420255523,R]]

Shortly before noon, NBC 5 confirmed the scene was still being treated as an ongoing active shooter situation. Police later said that designation remained in place while SWAT officers searched every corner of the building looking for additional shooters, victims or anyone in need of escort out of the building.

At 12:49 p.m. Dallas police said the building had been declared safe.

Blankenbaker said during a news conference that police officers fired one shot in the incident, a shotgun blast used to shatter a glass door so that officers could gain entry into the office where the shooting took place.

Dallas police Assistant Chief Randy Blankenbaker confirmed that two people were shot to death, an apparent murder-suicide, at an officer building Monday morning.
Witnesses React to Active Shooter Threat

Several people working in the building reported hearing several gunshots before police and firefighters swarmed the building.

"You could hear the gunshots. We actually thought it was on our floor because it was like three floors under us," said Erin Green, who works on the 10th floor.

Amanda Moore tells NBC 5 that knowing there was an active shooter in her building was terrifying and the scariest thing she's ever encountered, Monday, April 24, 2017.

"That was terrifying. That was the scariest thing ever because, you know, at that point, we knew there was an active shooter in the building and we’re being asked to walk down 10 flights of stairs with our hands up in the air," said Amanda Moore, who works on the 10th floor. "The thoughts going through my mind were, 'What if he comes into the stairwell, then what are we going to do? We’re going to be trapped.'"

Bailee Christian told NBC 5 that she heard two gunshots – one when she was still inside and another after she and her co-workers had been evacuated from the building. She said that when she heard the second shot she also heard screaming.

Bailee Christian tells NBC 5 she heard two gunshots and then screaming before being escorted out of her Dallas office building Monday, April 24, 2017.

"It was very intense in the moment, very scary," said Christian, who said her boss told everyone to hide in the back corner of their 10th floor office. "Probably about six minutes goes by and a police officer, a couple actually, came up to grab us."

Mary Jo Nsuk, who works on the 10th floor, heard a commotion coming from below and heard police say, "Come out with your hands up." About five minutes later, police came to the door to escort her downstairs. She left her belongings behind, including her cellphone and shoes.

Drew Pikulski tells NBC 5 he and coworkers evacuated after seeing police officers swarm his office building Monday, April 24, 2017. Pikulski said he was on the ninth floor and didn't hear any gunshots, but that his boss did.

"Police were doing their best to make sure all floors were clear," Nsuk told The Dallas Morning News. "They protected people with shields and a cop was facing backwards when they were trying to get us downstairs."

"The cops that were bringing us down, they had guns making sure there was nothing going on in front of us, behind us – so it was a very safe escort. I felt pretty safe, myself, but it was a very intense situation," said Kimberly Cadarette, who works on the 9th floor.

Hannah Greenhaw was attending a business meeting when they were told to lock their doors due to an active shooter. She and several coworkers hid in a dark room behind desks until they were found by Dallas SWAT officers.

Hannah Greenhaw, a witness who spoke with NBC 5, said as they were escorted from the building by officers she stepped in a small amount of blood police said was from an injured officer.

Blankenbaker said the injured officer was cut by glass and that no other injuries were reported.

An active shooter situation came to a deadly end inside a Dallas office building Monday. Police say a man shot a woman before shooting himself, leaving both of them dead.
Frontage Road Closed

Dallas police shut down the eastbound I-635 service road between Coit Road and Greenville Avenue for several hours while they investigated the incident.

A Dallas office building is evacuated after a reported shooting Monday morning, officials say.

The company that manages the building released the following statement via Twitter early Monday afternoon:

"Our thoughts & prayers are with those involved during this incident at 8330 LBJ. Tenants at property please follow all emergency procedures."

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene assisting in the investigation.

NBC 5's Maria Guerrero, Tim Ciesco, Kevin Cokely, Todd Davis and Frank Heinz contributed to this report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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