Victims identified in FreightCar America shooting
Workers evacuated FreightCar America after a man opened fire. Photo: Don Peterson
The Roanoke Times | Oct. 27, 2016
By Amy Friedenberger
As Travis Valderrama gathered materials for work at FreightCar America early Tuesday morning, he noticed a man rushing by him.
“I thought it was just some guy late for work,” he said. “He was coming in hard and fast.”
With his back turned, Valderrama heard gunshots ring out. He turned and saw a co-worker on the ground and another one falling.
That’s when the man he’d seen moments before turned the gun on Valderrama.
The man shot at Valderrama, who was standing just a few feet away. Valderrama was standing in such a way that the bullet grazed his name tag and went through part of his uniform. He took off running, hearing more gunshots behind him.
“My body turned away, but my head kept facing them,” he said. “I wanted to go back, but my wife and everyone told me I did the right thing. The guys that got shot, I don’t want them to think I left them behind. It was just instinct to run.”
Valderrama ran into another room, collapsed and suffered an asthma attack. During the commotion, word spread that someone was shooting people, and they had to quickly evacuate. They had all just started their shift at 6 a.m.
Getachew Fekede, 53, a former employee at FreightCar America, shot three workers — one fatally — and grazed a fourth before killing himself, Roanoke police have said.
All of the victims were found close to each other, police said. Daniel Wesley Brown, 56, of Montvale, died at the scene. Keith Dwayne Law, 31, of Rocky Mount and Gary David Koran, 32, of Roanoke remain hospitalized at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where they were listed in fair condition as of Wednesday morning, according to a hospital spokesman.
Valderrama, 31, of Catawba was released from the hospital Tuesday. He’s a welder at FreightCar America, where he’s worked for three and a half years.
Brown, who was from New York, was a 14-year U.S. Army veteran who served as an engineer during Desert Storm in a non-combat role, said his girlfriend, Vickie Hawkins. He worked at FreightCar America for eight years, most recently as a fitter. She said he knew who Fekede was but never talked about him.
“He liked his job,” she said. “He liked the people he worked with. From what I gather, he didn’t seem to have any issues with anybody there.”
Employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from the company, said they were shocked that anyone would hurt Brown. One man who worked at FreightCar America with Brown said he said “had a really good heart.”
“Daniel always had a lot to say and he was never shy about telling you how he felt or what he thought, even if it wasn’t complimentary,” the man said.
Another employee said he couldn’t imagine that someone would want to target Brown.
“It had to be a stray bullet, because there’s no way anyone could have ill will towards him,” he said.
Police are still investigating whether Fekede targeted the victims and are determining a possible motive for the shooting, although Jones said it was likely work-related. Information about where Fekede got the gun has not been released by police, who said he fired 10 rounds from a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.
Fekede’s neighbors at Brandon Manor Apartments near Towers Shopping Center have described him as friendly and generous and said he was often working. A few neighbors noted that he spoke about another employee “messing with him,” a problem that he said he’d raised with the human resources department at the company.
A spokesman with FreightCar America did not respond to questions Tuesday and Wednesday about claims of workplace harassment.
Fekede came to Roanoke in 2011 through a refugee program, police have said. Hannah Whitt, a 23-year-old Roanoke resident, said she helped resettle him while interning with Commonwealth Catholic Charities. The agency has not responded to requests for comment about whether it had contact with Fekede.
Whitt said Fekede lived in a house on Moorman Avenue with three other men. They were from Ethiopia but had been staying in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, she said. None of the men had family in the U.S. when they moved to Roanoke, Whitt said.
Whitt said she became friends with the men, sometimes visiting after her internship had ended to cook Ethiopian foods, play card games and learn Amharic, the official language in Ethiopia. She recalled Fekede as a quiet man who identified as Christian, though she said she didn’t believe he regularly attended any local churches.
Multiple FreightCar America employees said the plant property is easily accessible to the public. They said they walked into an entrance along Campbell Avenue, clocked in and walked to their work area.
One employee said he was baffled at the way that Fekede — who was fired in March — was able to walk around without no one noticing until he opened gunfire.
“This whole thing will heighten a sense of awareness among employees and supervisors,” he said. “The kinship among the guys in the shop, even if they don’t like each other, they still look out for each other.”
None of the employees interviewed Wednesday knew when Fekede started with the company. Police have said he was terminated after not showing up for three days. Until then, he was considered a good employee, Jones said after speaking with company officials.
A FreightCar America worker urged people to not chastise immigrants because of what happened Tuesday.
“We have guys here who have come here from foreign countries, and they come here, and they work hard and earn their way,” he said.
Employees said they will return to work Thursday morning. They said the company has alerted them to extra security guards on duty.
Valderrama told FreightCar America he wouldn’t be in the rest of the week.
“I told them I’ll be there Thursday morning for a meeting, but after the meeting I’m going home to be with my family,” he said. “I’m not ready to come back yet.”
Staff reporters Neil Harvey and Tiffany Stevens and staff researcher Belinda Harris contributed to this report.
By Amy Friedenberger
As Travis Valderrama gathered materials for work at FreightCar America early Tuesday morning, he noticed a man rushing by him.
“I thought it was just some guy late for work,” he said. “He was coming in hard and fast.”
With his back turned, Valderrama heard gunshots ring out. He turned and saw a co-worker on the ground and another one falling.
That’s when the man he’d seen moments before turned the gun on Valderrama.
The man shot at Valderrama, who was standing just a few feet away. Valderrama was standing in such a way that the bullet grazed his name tag and went through part of his uniform. He took off running, hearing more gunshots behind him.
“My body turned away, but my head kept facing them,” he said. “I wanted to go back, but my wife and everyone told me I did the right thing. The guys that got shot, I don’t want them to think I left them behind. It was just instinct to run.”
Valderrama ran into another room, collapsed and suffered an asthma attack. During the commotion, word spread that someone was shooting people, and they had to quickly evacuate. They had all just started their shift at 6 a.m.
Getachew Fekede, 53, a former employee at FreightCar America, shot three workers — one fatally — and grazed a fourth before killing himself, Roanoke police have said.
All of the victims were found close to each other, police said. Daniel Wesley Brown, 56, of Montvale, died at the scene. Keith Dwayne Law, 31, of Rocky Mount and Gary David Koran, 32, of Roanoke remain hospitalized at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where they were listed in fair condition as of Wednesday morning, according to a hospital spokesman.
Valderrama, 31, of Catawba was released from the hospital Tuesday. He’s a welder at FreightCar America, where he’s worked for three and a half years.
Brown, who was from New York, was a 14-year U.S. Army veteran who served as an engineer during Desert Storm in a non-combat role, said his girlfriend, Vickie Hawkins. He worked at FreightCar America for eight years, most recently as a fitter. She said he knew who Fekede was but never talked about him.
“He liked his job,” she said. “He liked the people he worked with. From what I gather, he didn’t seem to have any issues with anybody there.”
Employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from the company, said they were shocked that anyone would hurt Brown. One man who worked at FreightCar America with Brown said he said “had a really good heart.”
“Daniel always had a lot to say and he was never shy about telling you how he felt or what he thought, even if it wasn’t complimentary,” the man said.
Another employee said he couldn’t imagine that someone would want to target Brown.
“It had to be a stray bullet, because there’s no way anyone could have ill will towards him,” he said.
Police are still investigating whether Fekede targeted the victims and are determining a possible motive for the shooting, although Jones said it was likely work-related. Information about where Fekede got the gun has not been released by police, who said he fired 10 rounds from a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.
Fekede’s neighbors at Brandon Manor Apartments near Towers Shopping Center have described him as friendly and generous and said he was often working. A few neighbors noted that he spoke about another employee “messing with him,” a problem that he said he’d raised with the human resources department at the company.
A spokesman with FreightCar America did not respond to questions Tuesday and Wednesday about claims of workplace harassment.
Fekede came to Roanoke in 2011 through a refugee program, police have said. Hannah Whitt, a 23-year-old Roanoke resident, said she helped resettle him while interning with Commonwealth Catholic Charities. The agency has not responded to requests for comment about whether it had contact with Fekede.
Whitt said Fekede lived in a house on Moorman Avenue with three other men. They were from Ethiopia but had been staying in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, she said. None of the men had family in the U.S. when they moved to Roanoke, Whitt said.
Whitt said she became friends with the men, sometimes visiting after her internship had ended to cook Ethiopian foods, play card games and learn Amharic, the official language in Ethiopia. She recalled Fekede as a quiet man who identified as Christian, though she said she didn’t believe he regularly attended any local churches.
Multiple FreightCar America employees said the plant property is easily accessible to the public. They said they walked into an entrance along Campbell Avenue, clocked in and walked to their work area.
One employee said he was baffled at the way that Fekede — who was fired in March — was able to walk around without no one noticing until he opened gunfire.
“This whole thing will heighten a sense of awareness among employees and supervisors,” he said. “The kinship among the guys in the shop, even if they don’t like each other, they still look out for each other.”
None of the employees interviewed Wednesday knew when Fekede started with the company. Police have said he was terminated after not showing up for three days. Until then, he was considered a good employee, Jones said after speaking with company officials.
A FreightCar America worker urged people to not chastise immigrants because of what happened Tuesday.
“We have guys here who have come here from foreign countries, and they come here, and they work hard and earn their way,” he said.
Employees said they will return to work Thursday morning. They said the company has alerted them to extra security guards on duty.
Valderrama told FreightCar America he wouldn’t be in the rest of the week.
“I told them I’ll be there Thursday morning for a meeting, but after the meeting I’m going home to be with my family,” he said. “I’m not ready to come back yet.”
Staff reporters Neil Harvey and Tiffany Stevens and staff researcher Belinda Harris contributed to this report.
