Mom: 'I have no answers for them'

Family at a loss for what might have set off Michael Ford

David Montero, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 27, 2006 at midnight

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Felecia Ford walks with a crutch, but she needed much more than that Monday to bear the weight of knowing her son killed a person and injured five others in a workplace shooting rampage.

"I have no answers for them," Ford said. "I'm still trying to find answers. May God be with them because that's the only way I'm going to get through it."

The 46-year-old stood in the street outside the working-class Montbello neighborhood and sobbed. She could scarcely believe it was her son, Michael J. Ford, who entered a Safeway warehouse Sunday afternoon and fired 16 rounds - six of which were aimed at Denver SWAT team members. Ford was shot and killed by SWAT officers Ryan Grothe and James Sewald.

The Ford family had been gathering at the home of Ford's father, Khalid Abdul Muhammad, all day, trying to understand what might have set off the 6-foot-6 Ford. The 60-year-old patriarch only offered an agitated "I'm tired" before retreating into the house.

Explanation was futile for his older brother, Bobby Ford, as well.

"He must've held every piece of rage in his life and stuck it in a place and just let it out," he said. "It probably wasn't even a big deal, but the cap busted off."

Ford said he never remembered his brother being angry growing up or disliking his job unloading trucks at the warehouse. In fact, he said the only time he complained was Memorial Day weekend, when there was a big shipment of corn to be unloaded.

"He said the corn was heavy," Ford, 30, said. "But that was it. He loved that job."

No hint anything was wrong

Shirtless, drinking vodka and juice while waving his arms to emphasize important points, the eldest brother said he lived with the 22-year-old in a nearby apartment for a few months and never had a hint that anything was wrong. He said he never saw any guns in the apartment, either - "Something I would've been aware of, being an ex-gang member and all."

His mother said the shooting was entirely out of character because Ford seemed to be on what she believed was the right track. He had a full-time job with benefits, a car, an apartment, no children and was in the market to buy a house. She said he'd even gone looking for a place during the past couple of weekends.

None of it made sense, she said. His sister, 19-year-old Beyonca Ellis, said Ford was popular with girls, but Felecia Ford said her son never felt any were good enough to bring home to her.

That is, until the most recent girlfriend.

Family members said he had been dating a girl for a few months, and the relationship was serious enough that his mother had planned to meet her in the coming weeks. Now she thinks the first time they'll meet will be at her son's funeral.

"I don't know if we'll bond," she said. "But I'd like to meet someone who meant something to Michael."

Family members said Ford didn't have a criminal record. He received a traffic ticket in April 2005 for having altered license plates, to which he pleaded guilty. In 2002, Denver court records indicate he was arrested on a "wrongs to minors" charge, which generally means endangering the life or health of a minor, but the disposition was unavailable Monday.

His mother said he was a decent student at Montbello High School but never graduated. She said he took the divorce between herself and Muhammad hard while he was still a student there and eventually settled for earning his GED.

Family members said Ford didn't appear to be especially religious, despite some claims made in the media that co-workers had made fun of his Muslim faith. Bobby Ford said he'd never even seen his brother pray, and another brother said he knew he read the Quran, but it didn't appear to be a huge part of his life.

His mother said he was raised Baptist, and she knew of his interest in being Muslim. She knew little more than, that, though. The father told CBS he didn't practice Islam diligently.

Troubling signs missed?

His uncle, Ralph Ford, said his nephew got the Safeway job in February 2005 after working part time at UPS for several months. The 53-year-old, who works as a drug and alcohol counselor, said he feared he might've missed some troubling signs from his nephew.

"I think everybody missed it because he was so quiet," Ralph Ford said, wiping his eyes from beneath a pair of narrow sunglasses. "I ask myself, 'Did he want to talk to me? Did I miss it?' "

He looked around the front yard as if an answer might appear. Outside, a few cousins sat on wooden fences and some young children ran between a van and an SUV parked in the driveway. A young girl arrived with a bouquet of roses for the family and disappeared quickly behind a screen door.

Collecting himself, Ralph Ford said he wanted to pass on his condolences to the families of those who were shot by his nephew. But even as he spoke, his mind was trying to sort out the image of a kid he used to play basketball with and that of a killer.

"We played to 21 - best of three," he said. "I had the title and I would give him title shots. As he grew up - and he was a big kid - he got closer to getting the title."

Ralph Ford excused himself to do a television interview. Later in the afternoon, when Ford's mother arrived with another brother, Sean Ford, family members hugged in the street. A childhood friend, Ernest Colbert, had heard about the shooting but didn't realize it was Ford who had done it until Bobby Ford told him.

Colbert's mouth hung open and he began to walk in circles, his hands on top of his head.

"That was Michael?" he asked.

"Yeah, that was my brother, dog," Bobby Ford said. "He's in the morgue."

Sean Ford said he was still in shock. He said he had borrowed $20 from Michael last week for gas and was going to pay him back later this week. Sean Ford, 25, said he had a bond with his brother because he had a similar job unloading trucks at King Soopers. Felecia Ford said she worked hard to keep her sons from getting into trouble and was proud Sean and Michael had full-time jobs.

She joked she had her sons involved in almost everything growing up.

"Baseball, football, basketball, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts," she said. "I kept them busy so there was no time for trouble."

Until now.

"He was good up until 3:12 p.m. yesterday," Bobby Ford said.

monterod@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5236

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