Hartford Distributors Shooting: "He's Never Been Violent," Says Gunman's Ex-Girlfriend

MANCHESTER, Conn. (CBS/WFSB/AP) Omar Thornton, the Hartford Distributors warehouse driver who allegedly went on a shooting rampage Tuesday morning that left nine people dead and others wounded, was never a violent man, according to his ex-girlfriend.

PICTURES: Hartford Distributors Shooting

"He's never been violent that I know of," Thornton's ex-girlfriend told CBS affiliate WFSB. "I don't know what happened inside of him."

Multiple workers at the beer distribution center were shot inside the business at about 7 a.m., police said. Police sources said the gunman, whom fellow employees identified as Thornton, was found fatally shot inside the building before 9 a.m., according to CBS affiliate WFSB.

The State Firearms Bureau shows that an Omar Thornton purchased two firearms in January. Hartford Distributors employees said that Thornton had been on the job for about two to three years. John Hollis of the Connecticut Teamsters was with company officials at the scene of the shooting, and said that the gunman had been called in for a disciplinary hearing.

"Something snapped inside his head," Thornton's ex-girlfriend said to WFSB.

Hartford Distributors receptionist Marissa Busiere told WFSB that she heard another co-worker screaming after shots rang out inside the business.

"'He's shooting! He's shooting! Call 911.' And everyone started running out of the building," Busiere said.

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