Senior Marques Jones was about a quarter mile away from the gunshots, but he heard them loud and clear.  They came from Accent Signage last Thursday, September 27th, which was the scene of the deadliest workplace shooting in Minnesota history.

“There’s a refinery down there, has a bunch of graffiti,” Jones said.  “I was taking my senior pictures down there, about a quarter mile away from the place.”

Jones and the photographer were outside when the noises first reached them.  “It was all noise, really.  Just bang bang, bang, bang.  Gunshots, and screaming,” Jones remembered.

It was only later that Jones found out the whole story.  Former employee of Accent Signage, Andrew Engeldinger, had entered the building after being fired.  Engeldinger’s attack left five people dead, and three injured, including both the owner and the founder of the company.  After his rampage he took his own life.

“I didn’t know what was going on at first,” said Jones.  “If it seems that close, and it seems that loud, you don’t really hear the gunshots, you just go into survival mode, I guess.  I don’t know, I just took off running, really.”

Jones ran to his car where a scene of emergency vehicles and armed SWAT teams waited him.  In the aftermath of his experience, Jones has talked to the police, and the Star Tribune, as well as seeking counseling.

“I think it could have a bad effect, knowing that that was the owner of the company that died, but apart from that I don’t think it will have a terrible effect on that community,” Jones said.  “Stuff happens, you know, you can’t stop that stuff.”