From: FIRETV@aol.com Date: Thu, Mar 9, 2000, 11:27am To: fta@agency.kiev.ua (Dmitri), Fireftr663@aol.com, FRN@firefighting.com, wendo@jersey.net, K59FIREICE@aol.com, firefighter18@geocities.com, indiana1@erols.com, zerg90@webtv.net, mkroeger@pol.com, yorkfd@juno.com Subject: "Senseless Murders In Memphis" authenticator on file with jerryfire@earthlink.net

"Firefighters' and Deputy's Murders Leave Memphis Stunned" by: Amy Steelman Flirting With Disaster,

(Memphis, TN) -- Flags are flying at half mast this morning at Memphis' 52 fire stations, as the 800 member department mourns the loss of two of their own. Of course the loss of any firefighter is newsworthy, however these line of duty deaths are significant in that two Memphis firefighters died not as the result of a roof collapse or flashover, but rather at the hand of one of their own.

According to the Memphis Fire Prevention Division, what had been dispatched as a routine call for a house fire, around 1pm Wednesday, evolved into a bloody gunfight when Frederick Williams, an off-duty firefighter, apparently opened fire on two of his colleagues and a deputy sheriff.

Killed in the melee were Fire Lieutenant Javier Lerma, 41, and his nozzleman, Private William Blakemore, 48, a veteran firefighter who was on overtime detail. Williams also turned his shotgun on Deputy Rupert Peete, 45, a retired Army major, who had worked on the Shelby County Police Force for just three years. Williams' wife, Stacey, 32, was found dead in the blazing home by other firefighters during their primary search.

Just after noon Wednesday, police radio dispatched a mutual aid call for a domestic disturbance in the Memphis subdivision of Germantown, a quiet, well-kept community on the city's east side. Nearby, Deputy Peete had been investigating a call for a theft, and responded to the mutual aid request. It is believed that Williams' wife Stacey made the initial 911 call for help.

At the same time, Memphis firefighters were dispatched on a report of a "house afire" to the same address, responding with three engines, a truck, medic unit and chief officer. Initial reports indicate that firefighting teams were unaware that they were also responding to a domestic disturbance.

"A citizen, we learned later, tried to warn Officer Peete that the subject had a gun,'' said Chief Deputy Don Wright of the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. Eyewitness reports note that Deputy Peete never exited his cruiser, as Williams leveled his shotgun at the window at near point blank range.

Onboard the first-in engine, Lt. Lerma radioed "smoke showing" and upon arrival he and Blakemore moved toward the home to investigate. It was then that Williams apparently shot the two firefighters at point blank range.

Memphis Police arrived a short time later, and as Williams turned his gun onto another deputy, they returned fire, wounding him in the leg. Williams underwent surgery and was reported in critical but stable condition.

Authorities and eyewitnesses at the scene painted a picture of an apparent ambush by an assailant waiting for emergency workers to respond, according to a report in the Memphis Commercial Appeal. " At one point, Williams is said to have surrendered to fellow firefighters, after shooting Lerma and Blakemore, but picked up the shotgun once again as Memphis police arrived.

Williams, a 6 year veteran of Memphis Fire Department, had been arrested for domestic violence in October of last year. He is said to have had a long bout with depression and violence, and had just returned to duty following an undetermined sick leave.

Psychologists are referring to the Memphis shootings as family violence, rather than a random act. In 1987, three Philadelphia firefighters were shot while on duty in their West Philly station, when an off-duty member entered the station in a barrage of hand gun fire, killing the watchman. comments: firetv@aol.com