Post by Queen of the Damned on Nov 6, 2009 22:15:18 GMT -5
home of the orange too home of the nut. 
washingtonpost.com
1 killed, 5 wounded in Orlando shooting
Officials say suspect was fired from firm where incident occurred
By Michael D. Shear
Saturday, November 7, 2009
A 40-year-old man who was reportedly fired two years ago from an engineering firm apparently returned to that office in Orlando on Friday and shot six people, killing one, according to police and his former employer.
Police said Jason Rodriguez, 40, surrendered to police and was taken into custody at his mother's house outside Orlando. Police had searched for him for several hours after the shooting at the 16-story Gateway Center office complex.
Rodriguez is a former employee of Reynolds Smith and Hills Inc., according to a spokesman of the company, described on its Web site as "a facilities and infrastructure consulting firm" with clients around the world.
The company's chief financial officer, Ken Jacobson, said Rodriguez was fired in June 2007 after working as a beginning engineer at the firm for 11 months. Jacobson said his "work product wasn't up to the necessary standards."
The job Rodriguez did was "pretty deficient from the start," Jacobson said. He said the company had not had contact with Rodriguez since he was let go.
"We just can't make any sense of this," Jacobson said in an interview on CNN.
Reynolds Smith and Hills performs transportation engineering work for the Florida Department of Transportation, the Associated Press reported. It has Orlando offices on the eighth floor of the Gateway Center, company records indicate.
Orlando police spokeswoman Barbara Jones said police think Rodriguez was the only gunman in the incident. Orlando Police Chief Val Demings said investigators did not know why Rodriguez allegedly targeted the firm.
As he was being taken to the police station, Rodriguez responded to questions shouted from reporters about why he had "done it." He responded that "They left me to rot," but did not say who "they" were.
"No. I'm angry," he said.
Orlando authorities responded at 11 a.m. to reports of ongoing shooting taking place on the office building's eighth floor, a fire department official told CNN.
Gerry Gilgo, who works on the eighth floor, told the AP she was meeting a co-worker at the elevators for an early lunch when the co-worker suddenly yelled, " 'There are gunshots! There are gunshots! Get back in your office.' "
Reports of the shooting came as law enforcement and military officials were trying to come to grips with an eerily similar scene at Fort Hood in Texas, where a soldier killed 13 people and wounded dozens.
There were no indications the two incidents were linked, and local law enforcement officials, not federal ones, appeared to be handling the Orlando shooting and the search for the suspect.
"This is a tragedy, no doubt about it -- especially on the heels of the tragedy in Fort Hood that is on our minds," Demings said. "I'm just glad we don't have any more fatalities or any more injuries than we currently have."
SWAT teams and ambulances descended on the Gateway Center after receiving reports of shots having been fired at 11 a.m. Friday, Jones said. Shortly after, she said police went into "active shooter mode," thinking the incident was still underway.
"That's where shots are still being fired and we're having to trace the shots," Jones told reporters, even as police cordoned off several blocks around the office building and shut down parts of nearby Interstate 4.
Will Halpern, an attorney on the building's 17th floor, was in the last group to be evacuated. He told the AP the lobby was filled with about 20 officers in SWAT gear and carrying assault weapons, ready to search.
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washingtonpost.com
1 killed, 5 wounded in Orlando shooting
Officials say suspect was fired from firm where incident occurred
By Michael D. Shear
Saturday, November 7, 2009
A 40-year-old man who was reportedly fired two years ago from an engineering firm apparently returned to that office in Orlando on Friday and shot six people, killing one, according to police and his former employer.
Police said Jason Rodriguez, 40, surrendered to police and was taken into custody at his mother's house outside Orlando. Police had searched for him for several hours after the shooting at the 16-story Gateway Center office complex.
Rodriguez is a former employee of Reynolds Smith and Hills Inc., according to a spokesman of the company, described on its Web site as "a facilities and infrastructure consulting firm" with clients around the world.
The company's chief financial officer, Ken Jacobson, said Rodriguez was fired in June 2007 after working as a beginning engineer at the firm for 11 months. Jacobson said his "work product wasn't up to the necessary standards."
The job Rodriguez did was "pretty deficient from the start," Jacobson said. He said the company had not had contact with Rodriguez since he was let go.
"We just can't make any sense of this," Jacobson said in an interview on CNN.
Reynolds Smith and Hills performs transportation engineering work for the Florida Department of Transportation, the Associated Press reported. It has Orlando offices on the eighth floor of the Gateway Center, company records indicate.
Orlando police spokeswoman Barbara Jones said police think Rodriguez was the only gunman in the incident. Orlando Police Chief Val Demings said investigators did not know why Rodriguez allegedly targeted the firm.
As he was being taken to the police station, Rodriguez responded to questions shouted from reporters about why he had "done it." He responded that "They left me to rot," but did not say who "they" were.
"No. I'm angry," he said.
Orlando authorities responded at 11 a.m. to reports of ongoing shooting taking place on the office building's eighth floor, a fire department official told CNN.
Gerry Gilgo, who works on the eighth floor, told the AP she was meeting a co-worker at the elevators for an early lunch when the co-worker suddenly yelled, " 'There are gunshots! There are gunshots! Get back in your office.' "
Reports of the shooting came as law enforcement and military officials were trying to come to grips with an eerily similar scene at Fort Hood in Texas, where a soldier killed 13 people and wounded dozens.
There were no indications the two incidents were linked, and local law enforcement officials, not federal ones, appeared to be handling the Orlando shooting and the search for the suspect.
"This is a tragedy, no doubt about it -- especially on the heels of the tragedy in Fort Hood that is on our minds," Demings said. "I'm just glad we don't have any more fatalities or any more injuries than we currently have."
SWAT teams and ambulances descended on the Gateway Center after receiving reports of shots having been fired at 11 a.m. Friday, Jones said. Shortly after, she said police went into "active shooter mode," thinking the incident was still underway.
"That's where shots are still being fired and we're having to trace the shots," Jones told reporters, even as police cordoned off several blocks around the office building and shut down parts of nearby Interstate 4.
Will Halpern, an attorney on the building's 17th floor, was in the last group to be evacuated. He told the AP the lobby was filled with about 20 officers in SWAT gear and carrying assault weapons, ready to search.
Post a Comment
View all comments that have been posted about this article.
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
© 2009 The Washington Post Company
