LEAD STORY**
A gunman who was dressed in camouflage fatigues and a black beret shot and wounded two men on Thursday afternoon and then barricaded himself and four hostages in a Portland, Oregon, stock brokerage for four hours before surrendering to police.
At about 1415 PST, the gunman, identifed as James H. Rincker, entered the loading dock of the 32-story KOIN Center, which is a prominent office and residential complex located at 3rd and Clay in the heart of downtown Portland. Rincker came to the building reportedly intent on shooting some woman office workers who had recently had him fired from his job as a package deliveryman.
A Portland Police supervisor said, "He was angry at these women and decided he was going to go there and shoot them." People who know the suspect describe him as short-tempered and fond of guns.
Rincker's roommate said that the suspect dreamed of starting his own cult. The roommate said, "He was always talking about getting his own little sect together."
When Rincker entered the building's underground parking garage, he fired several shots from one of the guns that he was carrying. Two men were wounded in the garage. One of the victims was shot twice in the back and the other suffered two gunshot wounds to the leg. The suspect also fired his rifle that was equipped with a scope. Smoke from the rifle activated the smoke detectors in the building and sounded the fire alarm. The building's elevators were automatically shut down.
Rincker then left the garage and entered the first floor lobby of the KOIN Center. In the lobby, people were exiting from the building. Rincker shouted orders at them to stop and even fired a handgun into the air, but none of the people who rapidly leaving complied with his order to stop. One man said, "I came down the stairs and saw a guy with fatigue pants and a rifle with a scope on it. I heard shots. He was shouting, 'Come here,' at me. I started speeding out of there." Another witness said that the gunman did express frustration when people did not comply with his demands. The witness said that Rincker shouted at people, "Shut up! Don't Move! What are you guys, stupid?!"
When police officers arrived responding to the alarm in the building, Rincker fired shots at them. None of the shots hit the officers. The suspect then grabbed a female hostage and barged into a stock brokerage office that was located across the hall from CBS Television affiliate KOIN-TV. Inside of the office, Rincker took three more hostages. Unknown to the gunman, two other women were able to hide under desks in the office and stayed hidden throughout the four hour ordeal.
While Rincker was barricaded in the office, he answered a phone. On the other end was Keith Headman, who is the chief of Security at the Charles Schwab brokerage office in San Francisco. Headman had called the office because he had heard that something was happening in Portland. In a smart move, Headman talked to Rincker for about an hour on the phone until Portland Police hostage negotiators could set up and take over.
At one point during the negotiations, Rincker fired at officers from inside the office. Again, no officers were hit. Finally, during the standoff, Rincker allowed his hostages to leave and at 1828 PST, the suspect emerged from the office and was taken into police custody.
The two men that Rincker initially wounded were reported to be in fair condition on Friday. A Portland Police spokesman said, "We are very fortunate that no one died. It is a very busy office building."