Fatal Delusions: A shooting on Wall Street

Police say that Lang was a homeless drifter with a history of psychiatric problems. She had previously lived in the state of Washington, where she was awarded a bachelor's degree in physical education from Washington State University in 1963 and later taught fencing and tennis. Lang had visited Deak-Perera offices before, claiming that she was an owner of the company and that Deak owed her money. The firm denies that either statement is true. The woman had apparently exhibited bizarre behavior previously. Gretchen Collins, former food-service manager at the student union of the University of Washington in Seattle, said that last November Lang threatened to "get a gun and execute" her after a dispute over French fries. Collins says Lang claimed that the student union was her home and that its employees worked for her.

University police officials took the threat seriously enough to discuss it with the local mental-health agency. But state law does not permit extended commitment unless there is a likelihood that the person will hurt himself or others. Two Washington psychiatric evaluations earlier this year characterized Lang as "a paranoid schizophrenic [and] seriously psychotic," but one of them concluded: "We have no reason to believe that she shows a significant likelihood of dangerous behavior to those around her." Last week in a Manhattan office that prognosis proved to be fatally flawed. --By William J. Mitchell. Reported by Joseph N. Boyce/New York and Charles Pelton/San Francisco