Travis Baumgartner, seen in an undated handout, has been named as "a person of interest" in a triple gun slaying in Edmonton.
If Travis Baumgartner is found to be responsible for the murder of his 3 co-workers and attempted murder of a fourth, then it is my submission he is an excellent candidate for the death penalty.
Bill Whatcott
Edmonton police say security guard wanted in connection to shooting deaths of three co-workers
National Post Staff
Jun 15, 2012
Edmonton police say they are intensely searching for a security guard wanted as “a person of interest” in a apparent armed robbery that ended in the shooting death of three of his colleagues on the University of Alberta campus overnight.
Police say Travis Brandon Baumgartner, 21, is the subject of a massive manhunt and is believed to be in a dark blue Ford-150 truck with an Albertan licence plate of ZRE724. Edmonton police, RCMP and Canadian and U.S. customs officials are working on the case.
The three dead, two men and one woman, were security guards from G4S Canada and a fourth is in hospital with life-threatening injuries, company spokesperson Robin Steinberg confirmed earlier.
Police say they while they do not know Baumgartner’s role in the shootings, the public should not approach or contact him.
A Facebook profile under the name Travis Brandon Baumgartner has a profile picture of a man wearing a ski mask and sunglasses. His cover photo is a red skull symbol from the “Gears of War” video game series.
He is listed as a 2009 graduate of Bev Facey Community High School in Sherwood Park, Alberta.
Police told University of Alberta students they should not fear for their safety following the slayings, saying “this was not a random attack.”
Students describe chaos
Third year science student Jacqueline Woo was in her HUB dorm room late Thursday night when she heard two loud bangs. She thought nothing of it — assumed it was just construction noise — and went downstairs to check on her laundry. That’s when a police officer ran by her and asked if she saw what happened. A moment later, other students gathered said someone had been shot.
Further on towards the north end of the HUB, one of the victims was crying out in pain.
“He was screaming, he was moaning, he was groaning — it just didn’t sound good,” she said, adding that she saw a victim wheeled out on a stretcher, shirtless with blood on his face. “I could smell the blood.”
The 19-year-old is moving out of the part public mall, part residence at the end of the month — she never felt completely safe there, she said.
“In terms of a residence, all we have is one lock on a heavy door. That’s all the security we have,” she said. “There are so many passage ways that lead in and out of Hub, the building’s open 24/7 anyone can get in, anyone can get out. All the other residences have a swipe card, but I don’t understand why Hub doesn’t.
She’s just one of many University of Alberta students concerned about the university’s response to the incident.
The university said nothing to the residents of Hub and otherwise until about three hours after the shots rang out, she said.
Her friend, Angela Mackay, who lives in the International House residence across from Hub, said she was also floored that nothing was said.
Despite getting only a few hours sleep, the first-year nursing student said she’s going to write her two exams scheduled for Friday.
“I think now that this has happened, they should review their whole emergency response systems and security in HUB because everyone knows they have minimum security there,” she said.
Sarah Boesveld, National Post
The company did not mention that a fifth employee may have been involved in the situation in earlier interviews.
“It’s devastating,” Steinberg told The Canadian Press.
“Our hearts go out to families of the victims and all of our employees at the Edmonton branch. I’ve been working for this organization for 5 1/2 years and to see something like this is beyond tragic. It just hits you to the core.”
A G4S armoured vehicle was found running, with its lights still on near 47 Street and 93 Avenue, close to the company’s Edmonton offices.
All four security guards were armed.
The midnight shooting occurred in the Hub Mall area, which houses both student residences and 54 shops. The residence can hold up to 838 students.
Two of the shot security guards were found near ATMs in the Hub Mall’s concourse. The injured guard was also shot there. A slain guard’s body was also found outside of the Hub, near a G4S van.
The security guards were found by members of Safewalk, a campus service that accompanies students and staff late at night.
“Tonight, a friend and I discovered 3 shot security guards. Two were dead, one was screaming for us to help him. Worst night ever,” Safewalk volunteer Sapphira Nuttall wrote on Twitter.
Ravedh Seeberath, 41, was studying on the second-floor when he heard what he thought was late-night partying.
“I heard what sounded like firecrackers,” Seeberath told the Edmonton Journal. “It sounded like a whole roll of firecrackers going off.
Jacqueline Woo, 19, a science student at the university and resident of Hub going into her third year, said it was near midnight when she and a friend heard two loud cracks.
She thought it was just construction noise but Upon leaving her room, Woo saw police officers running down the hall and she and other students followed them.
There, students saw seven police officers helping escort a bleeding man on a stretcher out of the mall.
“He was screaming, he was moaning, he was groaning — it just didn’t sound good,” she said, adding that she saw a victim wheeled out on a stretcher, shirtless with blood on his face. “I could smell the blood.”
The University of Alberta offered its condolences on its website.
“The university is saddened about those who lost their lives last night and we extend our condolences to their loved ones,” a statement said.
“The safety and security of our students and staff is our first priority and our campus protective services are working closely with Edmonton police.”
Counsellors are available at the university for students living in the residences at the Hub Mall.
The university says counsellors are available for students living in residence at the Hub Mall.
Students may leave their residences, but cannot return until 7 p.m., when the Hub Mall re-opens.
It was the second robbery of a G4S armoured vehicle in Edmonton in the last six months. In December, guards making a mid-afternoon pickup outside a casino were attacked and pepper-sprayed by two masked men.
Two people escaped in a jeep with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Friday morning’s shooting is not the first gun-related incident to take place on the University of Alberta campus. In 2001, a former student was arrested on campus when a plainclothes police officer saw him carrying a shotgun.
Police had been the tipped the student was coming to the campus to “settle a score,” The Gateway reported at the time.
With files from Postmedia News
