Prosecutor: Double Homicide Suspect Sought To Kill 2 More

DEWITT, N.Y. (AP) — A former restaurant employee charged with fatally shooting two co-workers had intended to kill two additional employees during a robbery, a prosecutor said Monday.

The Post-Standard of Syracuse reports Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said 32-year-old William D. Wood Jr. knew the employees he confronted as they left the Chili's Bar and Grill in DeWitt early Saturday morning.

Authorities said he gunned down Kristopher Hicks and Stephen Gudknecht. Wood also planned to shoot two other workers, but there's evidence that his gun jammed, Fitzpatrick said.

Wood, who had worked at the restaurant until about a year ago, had tried to disguise himself but was recognized by the workers, Fitzpatrick said. Wood addressed them by name, he said.

"I don't believe he had any intention of leaving anyone" alive, Fitzpatrick said.

Wood fled after the shooting and was captured Sunday in Fulton, north of Syracuse. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and robbery.

About 200 people gathered Sunday evening outside the restaurant for a candlelight vigil in honor of the victims.

Allison Andrieu, who worked with Hicks on and off for eight years, said he was the kind of person who'd "give you the shirt off his back."

Chili's worker Ashley Gunn said that Gudknecht was "always talking about his kids."

Fourteen-year-old Adrianna Gudknecht said her father "had a huge heart."

It couldn't be learned from Fitzpatrick's office if Wood has a lawyer who could comment on the charges.

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Information from: The Post-Standard, http://www.syracuse.com