St. Louis Gunman Reported to be 401(k) Fee Suit Plaintiff

Police identified Timothy Hendron as the gunman who killed two people and injured five others with an assault rifle at a power transformer facility owned by Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB, according to news reports.

Police found a third fatality at the site that was presumed to be Hendron, 51, of Webster Groves, Missouri.  Police were told he carried a handgun, a rifle, and an ammunition belt, the reports said.

The motive, and whether it was connected to Hendron’s involvement in a current 401(k) suit, is still unclear.

The 401(k) lawsuit went to trial before a federal judge earlier this week, according to reports. U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey had set aside four weeks to hear evidence in the case in which Hendron and other class representatives are alleging ABB, Fidelity Management Trust Company, and Fidelity Management & Research Company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by subjecting the company’s defined contribution plans to improperly excessive fees (see “Excessive Fee Suit Against Fidelity Survives Initial Challenge”).

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the incident began at 6:30 a.m. CT, as the morning shift began at ABB Power. About 40 workers were at the facility. With employees panicking and racing to escape, police searched for the attacker for four hours, according to the newspaper.