Oklahoma native among postal shooting victims in California

One of the victims in the California postal shooting grew up in Tulsa. <br/><br/>57-year-old Dexter Shannon lived in California for 30 years, but he went to school in Tulsa, graduating from Booker T Washington

Wednesday, February 1st 2006, 8:34 am

By: News On 6

One of the victims in the California postal shooting grew up in Tulsa.

57-year-old Dexter Shannon lived in California for 30 years, but he went to school in Tulsa, graduating from Booker T Washington High School in the 60's and several of his siblings still live in Tulsa.

News on 6 reporter Ashli Sims sat down with the family who says they're still in shock over the tragic loss.

Dexterâ€™s brothers and sisters remember him with a big smile on his face. They say he was pretty quiet, the seventh out of ten children and a good brother. His oldest sister says he was making plans to retire and come back home.

Floyer Yeldell: "we were really looking forward to Dexter coming, it would have been nice." Now it will never happen. The close-knit family knew something had gone wrong at the mail distribution center where their brother worked.

Helen Potter called her sister in California to check on Dexter. â€œShe said I know you all been praying and hoping but this does not look good." Floyer Yeldell heard there was a shooting, but she was trying to stay positive. â€œSurely Dexter could run out, all of those people, surely they didn't get Dexter." But Helen soon found out that wasn't the case, she was on the phone with her sister when they got the bad news. â€œAnd her cell phone rang and I was holding my breath and then she started screaming and I started screaming and my husband was like what has happened."

A former worker Jennifer Sanmarco gunned down their brother and five others. Helen Potter: â€œShe came in, Dexter was working with her back to him and she shot him first."

Dexter Shannon was 57. Now his Oklahoma siblings are reaching out to each other, but their hearts are in California with their brother's wife Charlotte and his five kids. â€œI feel sorry for Charlotte. Me as a sibling I hurt, but that's her husband and she's hurting and her children are hurting."

Dexter Shannon was in the class of â€˜66 at Booker T Washington. He was Mister Hornet and a star basketball player. He also served in the US Air Force.

His sisters and brothers say it was such a senseless crime and they don't understand why the post office didn't have better security.