A fired “disgruntled employee” opened fire at a local business Monday morning in an industrial park near Orlando, killing five people. Seven other people survived the attack, which Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said did not appear to be terror-related.
The alleged 45-year-old shooter was also found dead at the scene from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The suspect was fired in April from this business, Fiamma, which manufactures awnings for campers, says the Orlando Sentinel. According to police, he had a minor criminal history, but had been accused of workplace violence in 2014 after he allegedly beat up an employee. He was not charged in that particular case.
Local law enforcement and the FBI swarmed the scene in the aftermath of the shooting, though officials declared around 9:30 a.m. that the situation had been “contained.”
“Over the past year, the Orlando community has been challenged like never before,” Governor Rick Scott said in a statement, adding, “I ask all Floridians to pray for the families impacted by this senseless act of violence.”
A year ago this month, Omar Mateen, an ISIS-inspired gunman, opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 49. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in American history.
This post has been updated throughout.
