Police release 911 tapes in FedEx shootings
Security guard Christopher Sparkman, shot at point blank range in the abdomen, is the first voice heard in a series of haunting calls placed to 911 during last Tuesday morning’s shooting at a FedEx distribution plant in Kennesaw.
“Tell my wife I love her,” Sparkman can be heard on the tapes, released to the media Tuesday by Cobb County police. “I’m losing energy really fast.”
In the background, the screams of his co-workers can be heard as Geddy Lee Kramer made his way through the facility with a 12-gauge shotgun. Five other people were wounded, none as seriously as Sparkman, a newlywed and U.S. Army veteran.
“Please God, hurry,” Sparkman, 28, tells the operator. “I don’t want to die.”
Within three minutes, police had arrived on the scene. Meanwhile, 911 operators struggled to elicit information about the location of the shooter, who, according to witnesses, was also brandishing a knife.
“I don’t know his name but I’ve seen him before,” said one FedEx employee as he urged his co-workers to evacuate the building. “He’s been through here before.”
None of the 911 callers were aware at the time that the shooter was a co-worker. Kramer, 19, eventually shot and killed himself inside the facility.
Sparkman, expected to survive the shooting, remains sedated at Kennestone Hospital following a fifth surgery.
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About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
