Bio

Emanuel Burl Patterson was born in 1979. He grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. He was known to frequent a temporary employment agency called Labor Ready, where he looked for work.

Emanuel was described as someone who had regular interactions with the employees and other job-seekers at the agency. Some people who knew him described him as unstable. 

Patterson did not have a significant history with law enforcement before the tragic events in February 2003. Most of his previous encounters with the law were minor. It appears that he lived alone in a small apartment in Huntsville at the time of the incident. He moved into this apartment shortly before the events occurred.

Murder Story

On February 23, 2003, Emanuel Burl Patterson entered the Labor Ready Inc. temporary employment agency in Huntsville, Alabama. Around 6:30 a.m., an argument broke out among several men waiting for work. The dispute was over a CD player and involved taunts and provocations among the group.

Witnesses reported that the argument escalated quickly. Patterson, who had been pushed and laughed at by the other men, decided to retaliate. He stepped back, pulled out a gun, and began shooting. He killed four men during the incident: Billy Knox Sr., 61, and his son Billy Knox Jr., 22, both from Huntsville; Benjamin Ferguson, 47, also from Huntsville; and David Seiler, 46, from Tennessee. A fifth man, Royce Henderson, 46, was shot in the leg but survived.

After the shooting, Patterson fled the scene. The police were soon notified and began searching for him. They tracked him down to his apartment, marked by the address he had listed on job applications. Authorities surrounded the building and cut off the electricity during a standoff that lasted several hours. Patterson fired at the police during this time but did not hit anyone.

Patterson surrendered to the police later that same day. He was arrested and charged with capital murder and attempted murder. He was held without bond while awaiting trial. The event shocked the local community due to the rapid violence that occurred in a place where many were simply looking for work.