Gunman Coolly Kills 28 in Bogota : Slays Mother, Neighbors, Then 21 More in Restaurant

BOGOTA, Colombia — Authorities today said a crazed gunman killed his mother and six neighbors, ate his last meal alone at a posh restaurant and then gunned down 21 fellow diners “with a chilling calmness.”

Police estimated that Campo Elias Delgado, 52, who was later shot to death, fired 400 rounds from his .38-caliber handgun in the bloody rampage Thursday night. In all, 29 people were killed, including a 6-year-old girl. At least a dozen others were wounded, two critically.

Hours before the blood bath, Delgado told friends that “he was going on a trip . . . to the other side.”

Judge Lucero Echeverri de Henao, who was investigating the case today, said Delgado “handled his gun with a chilling calmness” and carefully aimed at the heads of many of the victims.

Authorities said Delgado began the rampage after 7 p.m. in the apartment he shared with his mother, Rita Delgado. They said he shot the elderly woman, wrapped her body in newspapers and set it ablaze.

He then apparently wandered through the apartment building, shooting six of his neighbors--all women.

“He was not a pleasant person,” said an acquaintance, who said Delgado addressed people “in a military way.” Authorities identified him as an electronics engineer who served in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam.

U.S. Military Role Denied

But in Washington, Pentagon officials said preliminary checks failed to turn up any records indicating Delgado had served with U.S. military forces in Vietnam.

Police said Delgado went from his apartment building to Pozzeto, a swank restaurant a few blocks away. A waiter there said he had dined at the restaurant for more than a year but for the first time Thursday ordered a drink.

“First he ate, then asked for the bill,” the waiter told reporters. “Then asked for two drinks and, after paying the bill, he stood up and began shooting in all directions.”

Authorities said Delgado continued firing for more than 30 minutes, apparently reaching into a briefcase to reload his weapon from five boxes of ammunition. In all, 22 people in the restaurant, including Delgado, died.

It was not immediately known whether he turned the gun on himself or was killed by police.

‘He Shot at Everybody’

Witness Jorge Gomez, whose brother was killed in the restaurant, said Delgado fired at “everything that moved. He shot at everybody. His shots, unfortunately, were always on the mark.”

Most victims were shot in the head, he said.

A woman named Clemencia said she and her husband saw Delgado hours before the shooting.

“Campo Elias told us about 7 at night that he loved us very much and that he would soon be going on a trip,” she said. “He wouldn’t tell me where he was going, he only said he’d be going to the other side.”

She added that Delgado had once told her he was twice married--once in Argentina, where he had two children, and the second time in the United States.

Officials said that among the dead in the restaurant were Judith Glogober Letcher, the daughter-in-law of former President Belisario Betancur, and Vea magazine Editor Jairo Emilio Gomez.