Three city officials and two police officers were killed on Thursday night after a gunman entered the City Council meeting room in Kirkwood, Missouri, and opened fire, screaming:  “Shoot the mayor!”. The shootings started at around 7 p.m., when an armed man approached a police officer near the police station and fatally shot him, before bursting into the meeting room.

Charles Lee “Cookie” Thornton, 52, was an independent contractor renowned for his protests during the council meetings, but he was never considered to be more dangerous than he appeared to be. He was convicted for disorderly conduct in 2006, but no one though he would get as far as he did.

People who knew him said he was a nice guy, with one big problem though: the City Council, Los Angeles Times reported. Apparently when it came to that, he hardly made any sense, and his constant protests with the council made city officials ask for police’s support almost every time.

Hard to explain what drove the man to the point of madness this time. After killing five people, the police shot him to death, authorities confirmed. Witnesses recall hearing at least 15 gunshots, before the police managed to stop the shooter. At least 30 people were attending the meeting when the gunman entered the room.

Thornton’s brother told the local TV station KMOV that his brother was entitled to do what he did: “My brother went to war tonight with the people and government that were putting torment and strife into his life, and he ended it. I’m OK with it.”

Kirkwood is a 27,000 people suburb of San Louis known for its highly valued properties, and is also called the “Queen of the San Louis suburbs” on the official website. But that did stop it from becoming the scene of a criminal case just last year, when a local pizzeria employee was charges with kidnapping and sexual assault on two children, one of whom he had been holding for four years.