Fearing Loss of Job, Worker on Sick Leave Wounds 2, Kills Self

A man who mistakenly believed he was going to be fired walked into his company’s offices in Carson on Thursday and shot two officials before fatally wounding himself, authorities said.

Clifton Belschner, 37, of Chino Hills was in critical condition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center with gunshot wounds to the neck and back. Gerald Quinlan, 50, of Torrance was in good condition after being treated for a shoulder wound, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said. The assailant, Glenn Bantigue, 33, of Downey, was pronounced dead at Gardena Memorial Hospital.

Bantigue went to the Cosco Fire Protection Division of Zurn Industries at 321 E. Gardena Blvd. about 2:30 p.m., armed with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol, deputies said. He entered an office and fired several shots, wounding Belschner, the firm’s controller, and assistant controller Quinlan before shooting himself in the head, Deputy Chris Wahla said.

Belschner’s secretary, who declined to give her name, said Bantigue entered the office and began to argue with her boss--”something about an advertisement he saw for his job.”

Cosco employees told investigators the gunman, who had been out on disability, read a help-wanted ad in a local newspaper for his job and thought he was going to be fired. The advertisement apparently was placed to fill the vacancy created by Bantigue’s absence, Wahla said. The company had no intention of firing Bantigue, who was to be transferred to another job, the deputy said.

In the controller’s office, the gunman made repeated demands to know why the company was seeking a replacement, the secretary said.

“But we have to have a collector,” was the reply, she said.

Meanwhile, Belschner sent the woman out of the office to retrieve a file.

“I couldn’t have been gone for more than a couple minutes, then all of a sudden there was shooting,” she said.

Bantigue had worked for Cosco since 1981 and had been on disability for the last 30 days after suffering an injury when he fell out of a chair, deputies said. He worked in the company’s collection division, handling delinquent accounts for Cosco, which manufactures sprinkler systems for buildings.