At least two dead in downtown Orlando office shooting
Posted: November 06, 2009, 12:40 PM by Ron Nurwisah
World
At least eight people have been shot at a downtown Orlando office building.
WFTV is reporting that at least two people have died and that two others are in 'trauma red' condition.
From the Orlando Sentinel:
Eight people have been shot at an office building in downtown Orlando. Four of the eight are in trauma condition. The building is called Legions Place. Interstate 4 is shutdown eastbound.
Officers with assault rifles are looking for a suspect with blue shirt and blue jeans. Many have their weapons pointed at the parking garage.
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Am watching this on local news right now....pretty scary.
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Police: Gunman caught after killing 1 in Orlando
By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer
5 mins ago
ORLANDO, Fla. –A gunman opened fire Friday in the offices of an engineering firm where he was let go more than two years ago, authorities said, killing one person and injuring five others.
Jason Rodriguez, 40, surrendered about three hours later, after officers saw him through the window of his mother's home and asked him to come outside, Orlando Police Chief Val Demings said.
Asked by a reporter outside the police station why he did it, he replied: "Because they left me to rot."
Demings said Rodriguez brought a handgun to the firm in a downtown office tower where he once worked as an engineer, but investigators are not sure what his motive was.
"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."
Charles W. Price, an attorney who represented Rodriguez in a bankruptcy case, declined to comment.
Camille Previlon told The Associated Press her uncle, engineer Guy Lungenbel, was shot in the back and was able to talk but had not said much about the shooting.
"He is stable," she said. "He's just hurting real bad in the back."
Everyone who was shot was in the offices of Reynolds Smith & Hill, on the eighth floor. The five survivors were in stable condition, Demings said.
Company spokesman Mike Bernos said Rodriguez was an entry-level engineer who was fired in June 2007 after working there for a year.
"His performance wasn't up to our standards, so we terminated him," Bernos said. There had been no contact between the company and Rodriguez since then.
After the lunchtime shooting, people streamed out of the Legion Place building and some said they had barricaded themselves inside their offices while the gunman was on the loose.
Gerry Gilgo, who works on the floor where the shooting occurred, told The Associated Press she was meeting a co-worker at the elevators for lunch.
"She yelled, 'There are gunshots! There are gunshots! Get back in your office,'" Gilgo said.
Will Halpern, an attorney on the building's 17th floor, was among the last group to be evacuated. He said the lobby was filled with about 20 officers in SWAT gear, carrying assault weapons, ready to search.
Interstate 4 was closed in both directions through downtown and nearby schools were locked down until the alleged gunman was caught.
Rows of ambulances lined up outside the building as police snipers took up positions around the building and officers on foot and horseback searched the area.
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I always wonder if these office buildings have any type of security. We have security in our building that you have to get by if you don't have a badge. Our badges are electronic keys. And if you get fired or quit or whatever they make sure to take your badge but if not they can turn it off so you can't get in.
Police Release Surveillance Photos From Orlando High-Rise
from wesh.com:
WESH.com
updated 5:47 a.m. ET, Tues., Nov . 10, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. - WESH.com
The suspect in a deadly shooting at a downtown office building may have a history of workplace violence.
Jason Rodriguez, 40, is accused of walking into the office of Reynolds, Smith and Hill and shooting six people, killing 26-year-old Otis Beckford. He has been let go by the architecture firm two years ago where he worked as an entry-level engineer.
An Orlando police report that shows just over a month ago, Rodriguez's manager at Subway told police he wanted to press charges after Rodriguez allegedly rammed his car into the store, but the manager never followed through.
The incident allegedly happened at the Subway restaurant in the Kirkman Oaks plaza back on September 17. According to the police report, Rodriguez, who was working there as a sandwich make, was sent home for verbally abusing his manager and the next morning was called in for a meeting. But the manager said Rodriguez showed up only to ram his car into the front of the shop and then make threatening motions at the workers inside before taking off.
The police were going to pursue a charge of aggravated assault against Rodriguez, but the Subway manager didn't have Rodriguez's address or contact information. Several weeks later, when an officer checked back with the restaurant, the store manager said he hadn't heard from Rodriguez and he now wanted to let the matter drop.
Frank Panahee owns a restaurant a few doors down from the Subway. He said he remembers the day Rodriguez lashed out.
"His car got stuck in the concrete so he couldn't really get through the door but he was really mad at getting fired from Subway," Panahee said. "He should have been apprehended then, so this incident could have been prevented if he was behind bars from the first incident."
Police Release Mass Shooting Surveillance Photos
Orlando police are trying to answer many questions in Friday's mass shooting and they're hoping the release of surveillance video of suspect Jason Rodriguez inside the Gateway Center can help them.
Police have released images from the video to the public. In one frame, you can see Rodriguez wearing all white, but in another he has changed clothes.
Crimeline is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who has information about the whereabouts of Rodriguez between the time of the shooting, 11:45 a.m., and the time he was arrested, 2:15 p.m.
Orlando police said they are trying to develop a timeline.
Over the weekend Rodriguez, who is accused of shooting six people and killing one of them, had his first appearance in front of a judge. The judge ruled he be held without bond and appointed public defender Robert Wesley to his defense.
"I'm so sorry for everything that has happened," Ana Rodriguez said. "I'm sorry for the families involved and for my own son. It's not about me right now. I would like respect, privacy. I'm really sorry. This is very hurtful."
Welsey said Rodriguez is suffering from mental illness and stress.
"He is a very mentally ill person," Wesley said. "We have some history and clear indicators. This guy is a compilation of the front page of the entire year -- unemployment foreclosure, divorce, plus conduct reported from neighbors, declining in mental health."
When asked if that would be his client's defense and the reason behind the office shooting, Wesley said there really is no explanation.
"There's never an excuse," he said. "Nothing is logical about this case."
Three of the four patients treated at Orlando Regional Medical Center for gunshot wounds were discharged Monday from the hospital. One patient remains in stable condition at ORMC.
Let me get this straight...because the police were too inept to at least pick up a phone book and find out where Rodriguez lived, six people wound up getting shot? Sadly, with this taking place in Florida, it comes as little surprise. The fact is at least twice a week the residents of this state attempt to install drive-thrus where there formerly were none. However, that this happens so frequently here is no excuse for such lame police work.
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"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
Let me get this straight...because the police were too inept to at least pick up a phone book and find out where Rodriguez lived, six people wound up getting shot? Sadly, with this taking place in Florida, it comes as little surprise. The fact is at least twice a week the residents of this state attempt to install drive-thrus where there formerly were none. However, that this happens so frequently here is no excuse for such lame police work.
The part in bold would be funny if it weren't so true....and don't forget all the would be U-Boat commanders.
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Orlando Office Shooting
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