By David E. Hubler
Contributor, EDM Digest
A gunman described as a former “disgruntled employee” shot and killed five workers and then killed himself this morning at an Orlando, Florida, company, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
The 45-year-old unidentified subject entered Fiamma Incorporated, a company that makes RV awnings and other accessories, around 8:03 a.m. He was armed with a handgun and a knife, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said in a news conference.
Officials were quick to emphasize they do not believe the shootings were terrorist-related.
Police were called at around 8 a.m. by a woman who ran from the awning business, saying the gunman had told her to leave, the Miami Herald reported. She used the phone of a tile business across the street to call 911, said Yamaris Gomez, the tile store’s owner.
“The situation here appears to be very different from the situation at Pulse,” Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said. She was referring to the June 2016 nightclub shooting that left 49 people dead and dozens more injured in the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.
Jacobs commended the Sheriff’s Office for its quick action this morning.
The shootings happened at several locations inside the business, Demings said. There were about 12 employees inside the building at the time of the shooting.
Four people — three males and a female — were dead at the scene, and another male victim died at the hospital, Demings said. The seven other people inside the business were not injured.
It’s not clear yet how the shooter got into the building.
Demings said the Sheriff’s Office responded to Fiamma about three years ago, when the suspect allegedly battered an employee. No charges were filed at that time.
Demings said the assailant’s criminal history includes DUI and minor drug offenses.
Gov. Rick Scott said he had been briefed by law enforcement and that he and his wife, Ann, are praying for the families who lost loved ones today. “I ask all Floridians to pray for the families impacted by this senseless act of violence,” Scott added.
About the Author
David E. Hubler brings a variety of government, journalism and teaching experience to his position as a Quality Assurance Editor at APUS. David’s professional background includes serving as a senior editor at CIA and the Voice of America. He has also been a managing editor for several business-to-business and business-to-government publishing companies. David has taught high school English in Connecticut and at Northern Virginia Community College. He has a master’s degree for Teachers of English from the University of New Hampshire and a B.A. in English from New York University. David’s 2015 book, “The Nats and the Grays, How Baseball in the Nation’s Capital Survived WWII and Changed the Game Forever,” was recently published in paperback by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
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