Wife Killed In Court; Lynnwood Man Held

CLAYTON, Mo. - Committee members studying the need for increased security at the courthouse saw some dramatic evidence: A gunman who police say had just killed his wife during a divorce hearing ran right past them.

Witnesses said Kenneth Baumruk, 53, a Boeing Co. employee, was sitting calmly near his estranged wife, Mary Louise Baumruk, 46, of Florissant, Mo., and their lawyers yesterday when he drew a gun, shot Mrs. Baumruk at point-blank range and wounded the attorneys.

Baumruk, of Lynnwood, Wash., then fired wildly at the judge and others and ran into a hall, where he wounded a bailiff and a security guard before being gunned down several minutes later, witnesses said. He was reported in critical condition today.

Baumruk was hired by Boeing last August as a tool and production planner with the company's Commercial Airplane Group in Renton, Wash., a spokeswoman said this morning..

Since starting with the company, he had been living at the Lynn View Apartments in Lynnwood.

Annette Pachkofsky, manager of the complex, said today that she and other neighbors were absolutely shocked yesterday to hear about the shooting.

"We just can't believe it," said Pachkofsky. "He was one of the nicest tenants. All the neighbors would say he's a great guy."

She said she and her husband had befriended Baumruk and had gotten to know him fairly well.

"We knew he was going through a divorce," she said.

Tom Heinze, project manager on security for the Missouri courthouse, and three other members of a security committee saw Baumruk run by as they were getting off the elevator. "Just as the door shut, I heard three or four shots ring out," he said.

The county had commissioned a study on security at the St. Louis County courthouse. Lawyers, judges and guards have long complained about lax security at the five-story building.

The courthouse, about 10 miles from downtown St. Louis, is the only one in the area with minimal security.

"Sadly, the joke around the courthouse was that nothing would be done until somebody gets killed," Judge Tony Eberwein said.

In Missouri, authorities said Baumruk fired and reloaded as he roamed the second floor and was shot nine times by three police officers at court on other business.

Baumruk's lawyer, Garry Seltzer, 39, was hospitalized in serious condition; Mrs. Baumruk's lawyer, Walter Scott Pollard, 50, and security guard Wade Dillon, 48, were listed in satisfactory condition. A bailiff was in good condition, and Judge Samuel J. Hais barricaded himself in his chambers and was not hurt.

-- Times Snohomish County Bureau reporter Anne Koch contributed to this report.