That "hero" who flew into the IRS building? The only person he killed was.....

When Ken Hunter first heard about a plane crashing into his father's office building in Austin, he said he hoped his dad, Vernon Hunter, wasn't there.

After several attempts to reach his father, a 67-year-old IRS worker, he discovered his dad was missing.

Pilot Joseph Stack crashed his Piper Cherokee PA28 single-engine plane into the Echelon Building 1 in northwest Austin. The building housed 200 employees of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and its criminal investigations division.

The pilot and Hunter's father were killed in the crash. Thirteen others were injured.

"I saw the building and that was my dad's office building. So I called maybe eight times or more," Ken said.

But his dad never picked up the phone. A few hours later, he learned his dad was missing.



"You hope for a miracle, but logically you're like 'No , no'," he said.

In the hours that followed, Ken said he heard lots of talk about the pilot's motivations and felt compelled to speak out on his father's behalf.

"There was just too much going on about what the guy did and what he believed in, and enough's enough," he said. "They don't need to talk about him. Talk about my dad. You know, some people are trying to make this guy out to be a hero, a patriot. My dad served two terms in Vietnam. This guy never served at all. My dad wasn't responsible for his tax problems."

The Hunter family identified Vernon Hunter's body Saturday. That same day, as Ken drove to his father's home, he saw firsthand the destruction the small plane caused.

"We turned the radio down, almost off, and we just looked. No one said anything and we just kept coming in. My wife almost broke down, so it was tough," he said.

While he's angry at the act and he's angry for his loss, he's not holding a grudge against the man responsible for his father's death.

"I can't be angry at the person that did it, and that's just my dad coming out," he said.

Neighbors and friends of the Hunters also waited as authorities worked to confirm the victim killed was in fact Vernon Hunter.

Neighbor Robert Foster said he's trying to understand the senseless act.

"You just kind of go weak," Foster said. "You just can't imagine that it's a person that you know."

Foster said Vernon Hunter was a proud Vietnam Vet and a great neighbor.

"He was just a real tender man," he said. "It was always good to talk to him. He was just a nice guy."

Now, as cars gather in front of the Hunter residence, a neighborhood braces itself and offers support.

Vernon Hunter leaves behind a wife, a son and daughter and six grandchildren.