Disgruntled former employee kills 5 at workplace near Orlando: Police
The situation is contained.
— -- Five people were shot and killed by a "disgruntled" former employee at a workplace near Orlando, Florida, this morning, three years after the suspect was involved in another workplace violence incident there, authorities said.
The suspect shot and killed himself after shooting his former co-workers this morning at Fiamma, which is part of an Italian company that manufactures awnings and accessories for RVs, authorities said. Most victims were shot in the head and some were shot multiple times, according to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.
The active shooting was reported at about 8:03 a.m. Deputies arrived minutes later to find three men and one woman dead, Demings said. A fifth person, a man, was taken to a hospital where he died, Demings said.
The suspect, identified as 45-year-old John Robert Neumann Jr., was allegedly "singling out" victims, Demings said. When Neumann encountered a young woman who was a temporary employee, he allegedly pointed the gun at her and told her to get out of the business, Demings said. It appears Neumann reloaded at least once during the shooting spree, Demings added.
Eight people inside the business survived, Demings said.
Demings described the suspect as a "disgruntled" former employee who was fired in April 2017.
In 2014, authorities responded to Fiamma when Neumann was involved in another workplace violence incident, in which he allegedly battered another employee, Demings said. No charges were filed at that time, Demings said.
There's no indication that the suspect was a member of any terror organization, Demings said, adding that this was "likely a workplace violence incident."
It appears that the person he was accused of battering in 2014 was not one of the victims today, the sheriff said.
Shelley Adams told ABC News that her sister, a Fiamma employee, saw someone lying on the floor as she walked out of the bathroom. She was "just hysterically crying," Adams said of her sister, who called her on the phone. "She kept saying, 'My boss is dead.'"
The victims were identified as Robert Snyder, 69; Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44; Kevin Clark, 53; Jeffrey Roberts, 57; Kevin Lawson, 46.
Neumann was a U.S. Army veteran who was discharged honorably in 1999, Demings said. He lived alone and has no family in the area, Demings said.
Next week marks the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement, "Over the past year, the Orlando community has been challenged like never before."
"I ask all Floridians to pray for the families impacted by this senseless act of violence," Scott said.
