“I love you, I’ve been shot at work.”
Josh Pinkard texted those words to his wife moments before he died the day after Valentine’s Day. He was among five civilians shot to death when a disgruntled ex-employee stormed the Henry Pratt Co. warehouse in Aurora, Illinois, and opened fire.
Terra Pinkard shared her heartbreak in a Facebook post on Sunday, calling losing Josh “a literal nightmare.” She recalls receiving her husband’s text and says she had to read it several times before the reality of his words hit her.
“I called his phone several times, text, FaceTime, nothing,” Terra writes. “I called his plant and a lady answered and said she was barricaded in her room and police were everywhere. Of course, my heart dropped. … With my pastor’s help, since family was still on planes to get to us, I told my children their dad did not make it and is in heaven with Jesus. I’ve never had to do something that hard.”
The shooter, 45-year-old Gary Martin, opened fire during a meeting in which he learned he had been terminated after 15 years of working at the company, according to reports. The attack lasted 90 minutes until police killed Martin.
Besides Josh, other victims killed in the shooting include Clayton Parks, Trevor Wehner, Russell Beyer and Vicente Juarez. Six others were injured, including five police officers.
News sources report that Martin did not legally own the pistol he used in the shooting.
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