Politics & Government

Company Where Gunman Killed Spring Lake Park Man 'Horrified' at Newtown Shooting

Accent Signage calls CT rampage 'yet another senseless act of violence'—like the one that took UPS driver Keith Basinski's life in September.

The has rekindled feelings of people close to the six victims of the Sept. 27, 2012 workplace shooting at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis.

Among the dead that day was Spring Lake Park resident Keith Basinski, a UPS driver making his regular stop at the Minneapolis business as part of his Bryn Mawr neighborhood route.

See All the Fridley Patch Posts on Newtown Shooting 

Find out what's happening in Fridleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Accent Signage released this statement Monday:

Our thoughts and prayers are with the community of Newtown, Connecticut.

Find out what's happening in Fridleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We were horrified to hear about yet another senseless act of violence that robbed families of their loved ones.

We mourn the loss of the twenty young students, along with the seven adults who devoted themselves to enriching children's lives, even with their last heroic actions.

We stand in solidarity with all those who have lost loved ones in these unspeakable tragedies. 

—Accent Signage Systems

(The seven adults killed in Newtown included the suspect's mother. Initial reports that she worked at the school have since proven wrong, according to authorities.)

The son of Accent Signage owner Reuven Rahamim of St. Louis Park traveled to New York City over the weekend to join Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a call for action on gun laws in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, according to WCCO-TV

Bloomberg, who co-chairs a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns, invited survivors and family members to New York to help push a “Demand A Plan” effort to rein in deaths and injuries from gun violence.

Sami Rahamim, a student at St. Louis Park High School, told WCCO-TV:

You start to realize that there's such a huge problem with the accessibility to guns, the wide range of firearms that are available and how lethal they are in today's world—that it's not your grandpa's hunting rifle anymore.

Reuven Rahamim, Sami's father, was one of five people who worked at Accent Signage who were shot dead (along with Basinski) by employee Andrew Engeldinger, who also killed himself. 

See the WCCO-TV report on Sami Rahamim's trip.

Follow us on Twitter  |  Like us on Facebook  |  Sign up for our daily newsletter | Upload your photos and videos | Start a Local Voices blog


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Fridley