jhe90 wrote:
America
..

Where we class this as "regular"

Bad times....

A former OU football player and Southwest Airlines employee died Tuesday after he was shot in an apparent ambush at Will Rogers World Airport.

Michael Winchester, 52, was apparently shot in a parking lot outside the terminal, Oklahoma City police Capt. Paco Balderrama said.

Southwest Airlines confirmed in a news release that Winchester was an employee.

“It is with great sorrow that Southwest Airlines confirms that a Southwest employee who was injured during a shooting incident at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City has died from injuries. We continue to work with the local authorities investigating this incident,” according to the news release.

Winchester is a former University of Oklahoma punter and the father of James Winchester, who was a deep snapper for the Sooners and a current member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Master Sgt. Gary Knight said dispatchers received a call just before 1 p.m. that a person with a gunshot wound was laying on the ground outside a ticket counter. Winchester was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries.

Balderrama said a suspect in the shooting was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His body was in a red pickup on the second level of a parking garage at the airport. Police did not release the shooter's name Tuesday night.

Balderrama said the shooting was believed to be a premeditated act against Winchester.

"This individual went there and waited ... to take his opportunity, this was not random," Balderrama said.

Officials placed the airport under lockdown about 1:10 p.m. and a “ground stop” was issued just after 1:40 p.m., airport spokeswoman Karen Carney said. A ground stop is a measure issued by the control tower to not allow any flights to leave or enter the airport.

Police, assisted by state law enforcement agencies and the FBI, searched the airport for other possible suspects. Balderrama said a tactical team found the shooter inside the pickup and a police robot was used to ensure there was no threat. He said it took more than an hour to determine the suspect was dead.

Balderrama said there were no other victims in the shooting.

Airport reopens

Carney said the airport was reopened just after 6 p.m. She said 25 flights were canceled and multiple flights were diverted to other airports, but the airlines were working to restore flights operations Tuesday night.

She said people were being allowed to go back to their cars, but the area was heavily congested and recommended travelers reschedule their flights if possible. She said it could take some time for passengers to be picked up from the airport.

Carney said several hundred passengers and airport workers were held in the airport after the shooting, and three planes were stuck on the airport tarmac while police investigated the shooting.

Southwest Airlines canceled all flights to and from the airport Tuesday afternoon.

About 150 flights come through Will Rogers World Airport every day, according to their website.

Police were allowing vehicles to leave the airport Tuesday afternoon, with officers stopping and clearing each vehicle before allowing them to leave.

Airport officials confirmed all airlines would be waiving change fees for travelers booking alternate flights.

OU history

Winchester was the starting punter for the Sooners on the 1985 National Championship team.

Originally a walk-on from Marietta High School, Winchester earned his stripes by being the practice punter when the Sooner defense worked on their "punt block" formations.

After a year as the backup punter, he got the starting nod just before the first game of the 1984 season, as told here in 1984 in an Oklahoman story by Bob Hersom:

"A few minutes before the season started, he got what he had waited two years for: starting punter, Oklahoma Sooners.

"It was about 1:30 and the game was scheduled for a 1:36 kickoff on TV," Winchester said. "The coaches were going over the special teams and coach (Barry) Switzer looked at me and said, 'Winchester, you're going to start punting for us today.' That's when I really found out anything about it.

"Boy, I'll tell you what, my nerves just ran me over when he told me. It was like everything I had waited for was there all of a sudden."

Winchester's daughters also were student athletes at OU. Carolyn played basketball for the women's team from 2006 to 2009 and Rebecca was a member of OU's rowing team.

University of Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione sent his condolences to the Winchester family via twitter on Tuesday.

"Our hearts are truly heavy for the entire Winchester family," Castiglione wrote.