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TIA shooting suspect remains on life support

The man who shot his former girlfriend at the airport parking garage has a history of domestic related crime.

By KEVIN GRAHAM and BRIAN WHITE
Published June 29, 2005

TAMPA - A man shot by police during a confrontation at Tampa International Airport was on life support at the hospital Tuesday, police said.

William Gaul, 51, was shot four times by airport police Monday. One bullet struck him in the face, police said. Gaul had just shot Lori Nielsen, his former girlfriend, as she tried to escape from his blue Dodge pickup in the airport's parking garage, according to Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin.

Gaul was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was in surgery for most of the day. Nielsen died at the scene.

Gaul was previously convicted of three domestic related crimes in Connecticut in 1996: kidnapping, unlawful restraint and violation of a protection order, state records show. He served nearly five years in prison and was released in 2001.

In Port Charlotte, the owners of Four Seasons Air Conditioning, where Nielsen had worked since 2003, have established a trust fund for her children.

"Customers and contractors have been asking what they can do to help all day," said Tammy Hamilton, an owner and vice president, on Tuesday. "Everyone she worked with shares in this tragic loss of a wonderful mother, friend and co-worker."

While Gaul clung to life Tuesday, his large family gathered at their Milford, Conn., home to try to make sense of what happened.

"It's a crazy thing that happened," Gaul's brother Ronald said, his head in his hands. "Billy loved Lori and her kids, and her youngest son, Shawn, idolized my brother."

Gaul has three grown children, as well as four brothers and sisters. He served in the U.S. Air Force, receiving an honorable discharge, his family said.

Gaul's oldest daughter, a member of the U.S. Army who is scheduled to be deployed for a second tour of duty in Iraq, is with her father in Tampa at the hospital, Rita said.

"Something in him just snapped," Rita said. "It's tough to say what happened. My heart goes out to the Nielsen family. Lori's kids called me "Grammy' and they loved him."

--The Connecticut Post and Port Charlotte Sun-Herald contributed to this story.

[Last modified June 29, 2005, 01:18:19]