Small CU Seeks To Help Itself, Community Recover After Three Members Shot

Published February 18, 2008, 1:00 a.m. EST

Updated August 27, 2020, 1:24 a.m. EDT

2 Min Read

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Robert Dielschneider, president of the 600-member Kirkwood Municipal Credit Union here, heard the news about three members of his CU being killed at the same time as did the rest of the city.

“I had already left for the day, and was watching the news as it occurred,” he said. “I knew all three of them.”

The three members of the Kirkwood Municipal Credit Union were killed on Feb. 7 during a shooting at the local City Council Meeting. Charles Lee “Cookie” Thornton began shooting during the meeting, killing five people, including two police officers and three Kirkwood city officials, before police returned fire and killed Thornton. Three of the victims–Kirkwood Police Officers William Biggs and Tom Ballman, and Public Works Director Kenneth Yost–were members of the credit union. In addition to the three killed, two men were injured–Kirkwood Mayor Mike Swoboda, who is in serious condition, and a reporter attending the meeting, who was shot in a hand.

“It’s a very tragic event,” Dielschneider said. “Words cannot describe it quite honestly. The whole city is in mourning. It is damn right scary that this could happen.”

Dielschneider said that one thing that has helped is the ongoing support that has been received from surrounding communities, and from the Missouri Credit Union Association.

“Our league has been wonderful,” he said. “They’ve all offered to help us any way they could.”

The $3.3-million Kirkwood Municipal CU has a staff of two and is located inside City Hall. City Hall was re-opened on Feb. 12.

“We’re a very small credit union. But we are one big family inside City Hall. I know every single person in the credit union. We would go to parties will all these people. Policemen would walk in the credit union all the time to do business.

“I worked in an off-site location on Friday and Monday,” Dielschneider said. “It was very different to come back to City Hall on Tuesday. It’s going to be a long time for things to settle down.”

The community remembered the victims by pouring into local churches following the shooting, Dielschneider said. He added that anyone wanting to make donations in memory of the victims could do so by visiting www.backstoppers.com. Backstoppers Inc. is a nonprofit organization that, within hours of the death of a police officer, firefighter, publicly funded paramedic or EMT, provides the victim’s family with a check of $5,000, along with an assurance for additional assistance.