Top 20 of 2019: Shooting at Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora kills 5

The Kane County Chronicle staff compiled a list of the Top 20 most engaging, compelling and important stories of 2019 from the Tri-Cities and Western Kane County area. They are not ranked in order of importance.

The year started off on a somber note as a Feb. 15 shooting at Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora left five workers dead and several police officers wounded.

The shooter, Gary Martin, 45, of Aurora, died in a shootout with police. Northern Illinois University student Trevor Wehner of Sheridan had just begun working in the human resources department at Mueller Water Products when he was included in a meeting in which Martin was being terminated.

That meeting turned tragic when Martin opened fire in the room. Also killed were Clayton Parks, 32, of Elgin, a 2014 NIU graduate who was the human resources manager; Russell Beyer, 47, of Yorkville, a mold operator and union chairman; Vicente Juarez, 54, of Oswego, a stock room attendant and forklift operator; and Josh Pinkard, 37, of Oswego, the plant manager.

According to a report released Monday by Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon on the Feb. 15 shooting, Martin had spoke to a few employees that morning and was concerned that he might be fired for a safety violation. He allegedly told one employee, "If I get fired, I'm going to kill every (expletive) in here. I am going to blow police up."

Hours before the shooting, Martin had threatened to kill everyone in the plant and injure police if he were fired. According to a report released by Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon, Martin had spoke to a few employees that morning and was concerned that he might be fired for a safety violation.

He allegedly told one employee, "If I get fired, I'm going to kill every (expletive) in here. I am going to blow police up."