Michael Vernon | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

For several years, Michael Vernon, the 22-year-old gunman charged with shooting five people to death in a Bronx shoe store on Tuesday, had shuttled in and out of hospitals and health clinics for treatment of paranoid schizophrenia, officials said yesterday.

He also had a history of drug problems and a police record that included two assault convictions, according to law enforcement and mental-health officials.

Most recently, officials and relatives said, Mr. Vernon was receiving psychiatric care and medication from Morris Park Health Clinic in the Bronx, where his family said he intended to go Tuesday after stopping by Little Chester Shoes on White Plains Road.

No one could be reached for comment yesterday at the Morris Park clinic, and it was not clear what sort of treatment he was receiving.

In August, Mr. Vernon was treated for two weeks at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in the Bronx, a hospital spokeswoman said.

"He was evaluated, treated and referred for follow-up care at another agency," said the spokeswoman, Danielle McAuley. She declined to identify the agency he was referred to, citing the ongoing police investigation.

Mr. Vernon has been convicted of assault twice, of robbery once and of disorderly conduct twice, according to law enforcement officials, but never served time in prison or even on probation. One law enforcement official said that in the disorderly conduct cases, Mr. Vernon was originally charged with selling drugs but pleaded guilty to the lesser charges.

Two officials familiar with his case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had a history of drug problems, though his mother, Frances Vernon, denied yesterday that her son took drugs.

"From a psychiatric point of view, I think this was a man with a very troubled past from early on," said one of the officials familiar with details of Mr. Vernon's medical history. "We do have evidence that he had a substance abuse problem historically. And when you have a combination of someone taking drugs and who is schizophrenic, it becomes an extremely unstable situation."

As they sought more details of Mr. Vernon's background yesterday, the police were also still unraveling his motives. Initial accounts of the incident had described a dispute between the gunman and store employees, but the police on Tuesday cited robbery as the motive for the attack.

Yesterday, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said the killings were apparently motivated by a combination of factors. He said Mr. Vernon was upset because some shoes he had ordered from Little Chester had not come after several weeks. But when Mr. Vernon returned to the store Tuesday, "it was set up to be a robbery situation," Mr. Bratton said.

An investigator said that Mr. Vernon walked into the store screaming, though accounts vary on what he said. Then Mr. Vernon started shooting and walking around the store, killing five people. The last victim to be identified by the police was Henry Lucero Inga, 22, who by one account had recently arrived from Peru.

During the rampage, Mr. Vernon grabbed Jae Moon Chae, 67, a Queens businessman, as a hostage and shot him at least once, said the investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity. After he ran out the door, Mr. Vernon was shot in the groin and the hand by the police.

In an interview, Mr. Vernon's brother, Christopher Simmons, objected to the police's portrayal of his brother as a robber. Mr. Simmons said that his brother went to the store to buy a pair of boots that he had ordered several weeks ago.

"He didn't go there to rob the place," Mr. Simmons said. "When he got there, he just snapped."

Mr. Vernon was recovering from surgery at Bronx Municipal Hospital yesterday and will likely be arraigned in his hospital bed today, said Steven Reed, a spokesman for the Bronx District Attorney, Robert T. Johnson.

Mr. Johnson, who opposes the death penalty, had already said he would not seek capital punishment for Mr. Vernon -- a decision that brought an outcry from some supporters of the death penalty.

Gov. George E. Pataki faxed two letters to Mr. Johnson yesterday, demanding an explanation for the decision not to seek the death penalty and expressing "grave reservations" about the move. Replying, the District Attorney simply reiterated his intention to seek a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Three shooting victims remained in critical but stable condition yesterday at Bronx Municipal Hospital, Susan Miller, a hospital spokeswoman, said. They were the two store clerks, Juan Dones and Said Galve Gonzolo, and Mr. Jae, the businessman who was briefly taken hostage.