Lone Shooting Spree Survivor Testifies

Patel Details Incident

A paralyzed witness testified Monday in the trial of Richard Baumhammers about being the only surviving victim of a two-county shooting spree, WTAE-TV's Bob Mayo reported.

Attorneys Review Video Depisition
Survey: Can Baumhammers Be Tried Fairly In Allegheny County?
Plea Bargains Offered
Did He Research Alleged Victims?

Sandip Patel Testifies
Suspect Ruled Competent
Mourners Gather At Synagogue
Suspect Arraigned
Victim's Kin
Woman Has Close Call
Hear Baumhammers' Personal Ad

Rabbis Call For End To Violence
D.A. Says Note Could Reveal Hate Motive
Who Is Richard Baumhammers?

Sandip Patel has been paralyzed from the neck down since he was shot at the India Grocers in Scott Towne Center, south of Pittsburgh last April 28. Patel, 26, an Indian man who worked behind the counter of the ethnic food store, spoke softly in broken English. A baliff wiped tears from Patel's face during testimony. Patel said that he did not see Baumhammers raise the gun that shot him, because Baumhammers shielded his right hand with his body. "He shot me and I just fell," Patel said. "After that, I don't know what happened." Patel is the only one of Baumhammers six alleged victims who did not die during a 90-minute shooting spree that occurred in several locations. Baumhammers, 35, a nonpracticing immigration attorney from Mt. Lebanon, is also accused of killing his Jewish next door neighbor, Anita Gordon, 63; Anil Thakur, 31, an Indian man shopping at the store where Patel worked; two Asian men, Ji-Ye Sun, 34, of Churchill, and Thao Pham, 27, of Castle Shannon, at a Chinese restaurant; and Garry Lee, 22, a black man from Aliquippa, at a Beaver County karate school. Baumhammers is also accused of shooting at and defacing two synagogues that day. Baumhammers' attorney, William Difenderfer, does not dispute the shootings but said his client was too mentally ill to understand right from wrong when they occurred. Prosecutors said Baumhammers was a frustrated white supremacist who picked his victims to make a statement against nonwhite immigration. Baumhammers was arrested when police located his vehicle about 90 minutes after the first shooting. Carol Swed, a married mother of three from Mt. Lebanon, said that she was sitting at a stop light when she saw Baumhammers calmly walking the length of the Ahavath Achim synagogue in Carnegie and shooting out windows. She called police to report the license plate number of his vehicle. "He looked calm. If I had heard that sound (of gunshots and breaking glass) I would have been jumping out of my skin," Swed said. "But he was perfectly calm." A worker and customer at the Ya-Fei Restaurant in Robinson Township described a scene that was anything but calm, when Baumhammers walked through the front door and began firing. Manager Ji-Ye Sun and delivery driver Thao Pham were killed almost immediately, according to sushi chef Chun-shia Yang. "Tony (Thao) couldn't talk because there was blood coming out of his mouth, all over, but he was moving," Yang said. "Gerry (Ji-Ye) was dead. they were both dead after a couple of minutes." George Thomas II, 24, of Beaver, said that he was warming up with Garry Lee at C.S. Kim's School of Karate, Baumhammers's last stop, when he heard gunshots. Thomas said that he turned around and saw Baumhammers pointing the gun at him. He said that he then saw Baumhammers shoot his black friend twice. When he was arrested 15 minutes later in nearby Ambridge, Aliquippa police officer John Fratangeli testified that Baumhammers surrendered without a fight and calmly replied to police questions. He showed "no emotions. He looks the way he looks right now," Fratangeli said. Deputy Allegheny County District Attorney Edward Borkowski said that he could wrap up his case as early as Tuesday. Difenderfer is then expected to call 16 defense witnesses, including Dr. James Merikangas, a neurologist and psychiatrist who has said that Baumhammers suffers from a delusional mental disorder. Previous Stories: