KIRKWOOD, Mo. - Mayor Mike Swoboda is leaving a St. Louis area hospital today, three weeks after suffering two gunshot wounds to the head during a City Council meeting on Feb. 7. The gunman, Charles Thornton, killed five people before Kirkwood police officers shot him to death inside City Hall.
Swoboda, 69, will leave for a rehabilitation hospital, where he is expected to stay for three weeks to two months.
Swoboda's son, Mike Jr., said the family expects a full recovery, but that it could take a year. He said his father had no memory of the shootings and that he began eating soft foods and breathing on his own this week.
Mike Swoboda Jr. said his father has set two goals for his recovery - to attend his final Kirkwood City Hall meeting as mayor in April and to take a previously planned trip to Ireland with his son this summer.
Read the Top 8
Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Additional Reads
-
Tornados slam Arkansas, shredding rooftops and tossing cars March 31, 2023 -
-
-
Migrant detention center fire leaves 40 dead in Juárez March 28, 2023