Suburban Journals reporter Todd Smith wonders whether Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton was aiming the gun at him or whether he was just in the way.

Smith, who was interviewed Friday by telephone from his hospital room, was shot in the hand and underwent surgery Friday night. The bullet went through his hand and grazed his chest.

Smith, 36, who covers most Kirkwood City Council meetings, said he had only briefly talked to Thornton once about his ongoing fight with city officials. He's not sure Thornton remembered who he was Thursday night or whether Thornton singled him out because of Smith's laptop computer

"Maybe he didn't want me to write," Smith said. "I don't know."

Or Thornton could have been going for Councilwoman Connie Karr, who sat just a couple of feet away, Smith said. Karr was killed.

Smith was seated in the front row, next to the speaker's booth.

Perhaps Thornton wanted to shoot both of them, Smith said, trailing off as he tried to make sense of the shootings.

"I'm just glad he didn't kill me," Smith said. "I know that's selfish. But I'm just so lucky to be alive."

Smith said much of the night was a blur.

He said he was about to sit down after the Pledge of Allegiance when he heard Thornton shouting and charging up the opposite side of the room. Smith didn't see the guns at first. Then he saw two of them in Thornton's hands.

"He was completely possessed," Smith said. "He just looked determined. He just shot the police officer without even a thought, and the guy just goes down."

The next thing he remembers, Thornton was pointing the gun at him from about 10 feet away. "He looked at me directly and I felt complete rage, like he was angry at me," Smith said.

After being shot, Smith said he walked quickly out of the room as others also dashed for the doors. He heard popping noises behind him as he escaped.

"I said something to the effect of, 'Oh my God, I've been shot again,' " Smith recalled.

Smith said he had been shot in the leg in 1997 during a robbery attempt in Delaware.

Smith said he expected to be released today and to make a full recovery.

He said the memory of the sights inside the chamber room when he went back to collect his belongings after the shootings will stay with him.

"The horrible image of dead bodies ..." he said. "That’s just the worst thing to have ever seen."

kkumar@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8017