Mansel �Sonny� Hammett � the 1985 South Connellsville Factory Murders
Background
On the morning of
March 16, 1985, Mansel �Sonny� Hammett, a 39-year-old hourly worker at the Anchor Glass Container Corp. plant in
South Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, was sent home after a workplace disciplinary issue. A short time later�around 10 a.m.�he returned to the plant with a revolver. Contemporary reporting and later retrospectives identify the location, date, and precipitating suspension preceding the attack.
The Attack (March 16, 1985)
Entering the facility, Hammett first incapacitated the gate security guard�identified in reports as
James Silbaugh�before moving through the factory floor in search of plant supervisors. He then shot multiple foremen, killing four and seriously wounding a fifth, before turning the gun on himself. Eyewitness and police accounts from the time describe him �stalking� the supervisory offices and ignoring pleas to stop; he ultimately died by suicide inside the plant.
The lone surviving gunshot victim was
Richard Hosier, who sustained a critical chest wound and was hospitalized in Pittsburgh.
Victims (Names, Date, Location)
- Donald Abbott � Foreman � March 16, 1985 � Anchor Glass Container Corp., South Connellsville, PA.
- John Coligan � Foreman � March 16, 1985 � Anchor Glass Container Corp., South Connellsville, PA.
- Ralph Tomaro � Foreman � March 16, 1985 � Anchor Glass Container Corp., South Connellsville, PA.
- Paul Gabelt � Foreman � March 16, 1985 � Anchor Glass Container Corp., South Connellsville, PA.
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