West Webster NY Firefighters Lured Into Trap And Shot By Sniper 2 Year Anniversary

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Two years ago today, on Christmas Eve 2012, in West Webster NY, (a suburb of Rochester), two firefighters were shot and killed and two more shot and wounded while arriving at an intentionally set house fire that was set as a trap by a lunatic sniper gunman with a rifle, who was set up on a nearby berm.

The firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice were Mike Chiapperini, 43, (an Ex-Chief with WWFD and also a local Police Lt) and Tomasz Kaczowka, 19, (also a local County Fire Dispatcher) of the West Webster Fire Department. Seriously wounded were Firefighters Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino of West Webster FD. The body of the gunman's sister was later found in the charred residence.

The gunman, who was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was a 62-year old ex-con who had served a 17 year sentence for beating his grandmother to death. Although he left no clear motive in his suicide note that expressed his intent to burn down the neighborhood and kill as many people as possible, he was knowingly angered when his mother died 2 months prior and she asked that all donations in her name be made to West Webster FD.

Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/25/nyregion/2-firefighters-killed-in-western-new-york.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Audio (firefighters report being shot at and multiple firefighters down, shots still being fired @ 4:02 into the video).

[SageVigiles 1,194]

Important incident to remember given everything going on today.

I had the honor of meeting the Kaczowka family at the 2013 National Fallen Firefighters' Memorial Weekend. Great people.