1 Dead, 5 Hurt in Orlando Shooting Spree

Former Employee Opens Fire in Offices of Firm that Sacked Him; Asked Why He Did It, Gunman Said: "They Left Me to Rot"

(CBS/AP)  Updated at 8:36 p.m. EDT

A man who was so deep in debt that he did not have the money to visit his son 30 minutes away opened fire Friday at the engineering firm that fired him two years ago, killing one person and wounding five, authorities said.

As officers led a handcuffed Jason Rodriguez into a police station, a reporter asked the divorced 40-year-old why he had attacked his former colleagues.

"Because they left me to rot," said Rodriguez, who recently told a bankruptcy judge he was making less than $30,000 a year at a Subway sandwich shop and owed nearly $90,000.

The shooting on the eighth floor of an office tower paralyzed downtown Orlando for three hours. Police quickly tracked Rodriguez to his mother's home, spotted him through a window and ordered him to come out.

He surrendered peacefully and was in custody Friday evening, though he had not yet been formally charged in the shootings.

All of the victims worked at the firm of Reynolds, Smith and Hills, where Rodriguez was an entry-level engineer for 11 months before he was let go in June 2007, the company said.

Police said Rodriguez used a handgun in the shooting, but they did not release additional details, including how he got inside the building, whether he said anything to people in the office or how he initially escaped.

He surrendered peacefully and was in custody Friday evening. Police said he apologized as officers handcuffed him.

"I'm just going through a tough time right now. I'm sorry," officers quoted him as saying.

Police say he will be charged with first-degree murder and other crimes. Officials said he could make an initial court appearance Saturday.

All the victims worked at the firm of Reynolds, Smith and Hills, where Rodriguez was an entry-level engineer for 11 months before he was let go in June 2007, the company said.

Witnesses told police they recognized Rodriguez when he entered the company's lobby. They said he pulled a handgun from a holster under his shirt and shot an employee standing next to the receptionist's desk, killing him. He then went into the common work area and fired several shots, they said, wounding five other employees.

The five wounded people were in stable condition at Orlando hospitals and police say all are expected to survive. The person who died was not identified.

Rodriguez worked on drawings in the firm's transportation group, but his supervisors said his performance was not up their standards, and when he did not improve, he was fired. The company did not hear from him again.

"This is really a mystery to us," said Ken Jacobson, the firm's general legal counsel and chief financial officer. "There was nothing to indicate any hard feelings."

He did not know why Rodriguez would say the company had left him "to rot."

"It's been 2½ years," Jacobson said. "We don't know where he's been or what he's done."

But Rodriguez told detectives that the company had fired him without cause and had made him look incompetent. He told them he was unemployed for a year and a half before landing work at Subway, where he worked until recently.

He told them the shop couldn't give him enough hours, and he later filed for unemployment. He expected to get a check recently but when it didn't arrive he blamed Reynolds, Smith and Hills, thinking it was harming his efforts to qualify, police said. He told them he could no longer support his family. Police said he then invoked his right to remain silent.

Indeed, Rodriguez' bankruptcy filing and his former mother-in-law suggested he was plagued by money woes.

Les Winograd, a spokesman for Milford, Conn.-based Subway Restaurants, said Rodriguez had worked for one of the company's sandwich shops in the Orlando area until six weeks ago. He would not say whether Rodriguez had left or was fired.

His mother-in-law, America Holloway, told The Associated Press that Rodriguez and her daughter, Neshby, were married for about 6½ years before divorcing several years ago. They have an 8-year-old son who lives with Neshby in Kissimmee, about a half-hour away.

Holloway said the couple lived with her in Orlando for several years while they were married and that Rodriguez abused her daughter and once threw all her clothes into the street.

"I used to tell my daughter he was crazy," Holloway said. "He was always fighting, always yelling. There was always problems."

After the divorce, Rodriguez seldom saw his son, but he called last week while the child was at Holloway's house and the boy asked his father why he did not come over, too.

"He said, 'Because I don't have any money. I don't have a job. I don't have anything to eat. When things get better, I'll come see you,"' Holloway said Rodriguez told his son.

"This is a tragedy, no doubt about it, especially on the heels of the tragedy in Fort Hood that is on our minds," Police Chief Val Demings said, referring to an Army psychiatrist suspected of opening fire on fellow soldiers at a Texas military base Thursday in an attack that killed 13 people and wounded 30.

Charles Price, an attorney who represented Rodriguez in his bankruptcy case, said he could not comment on specifics of the matter. He had not seen Rodriguez since the summer.

A somber Gov. Charlie Crist visited some of the wounded at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

"They're obviously traumatized," he said. "At the same time, I was impressed with their spirit and strength."

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's just hurting real bad in the back," she said.

After the lunchtime shooting, some people streamed out of the Legion Place building while others holed up in their offices. A major highway was closed, and nearby schools were locked down.

Greg Cross, who works in a real estate office on the 12th floor, said he and his co-workers barricaded themselves inside after hearing about the gunman on television.

"We were terrified," he said. "We locked the door and put a filing cabinet in front of the door and just waited."

Mark Vella, who works in a different office on the same floor, said he and five co-workers also pulled a filing cabinet in front of their door. They prayed and talked about what to do if the gunman showed up.

"We were afraid the guy was still in the building and making the rounds," Vella said.

[sam-kiley]

bonjour
la libre vente et circulation des armes aux states fait encore des siennes, endeuille les familles, a quand une loi pour stopper ce carnage...
"Because they left me to rot," said Rodriguez,

la belle excuse, si a chaque fois qu'une personne dans le pétrin s'attaque a ses collégues ou voisins..nous ne seront jamais sortis de "l'auberge"..autrement dit de l'engrenage du crime "gratuit"
sa prémiére erreur etait de s'endetter, sa deuxiéme s'attaquer a ses collégues..pourquoi, triste histoire...désolée pour la personné decédée, condoléances aux siens...au revoir

[mecanik-2009]

"Guns are for uncivilized people, not for civilized people. If you are loving your neighbor then you don?t need gun, you need only love."

Unless of course your neighbor finds out about that affair your having with his wife.

[mecanik-2009]

Canadian Gun laws are insane.

[band3x]

...AND?

[Dgunner]

In oklahoma . We consider everyone armed.EVERYONE!We have the make my day law. It is easier to build a bomb blow up huge buildings downtown oklahoma city, than to break into a house or threaten the life of a oklahoma resident. That's one sure fire way to get shot and most probably killed.

[spaceatoms]

I would think that Congress should pass a law making a mandatory washing of all hands in the new girly girl society; anyone like poker.

[apachekid]

by skyk-2009 November 7, 2009 7:29 AM EST
apachekid, I hardly think the President who we have asked to clean up the WORST Economic Meltdown since the Great Depression is at fault here.

That's just fine and dandy. The Demos have controlled the House & Senate for the Last 3 years. Have made the present economic policies & decisions that have brought about this diseaster. After 3 years Just how long are you Libs going to play the blame game & your lie & deny tactics.

But I will give you credit. Your hardly think line sums it up. Obamas hardly thinking approach has got us in this situation. Spend more time thinking not $$$$$$, and you'll end up being more than half-right. So Sad!

[apachekid]

"Because they left me to rot," said Rodriguez, who recently told a bankruptcy judge he was making less than $30,000 a year at a Subway sandwich shop and owed nearly $90,000.


According to the Obama his administration has created nearly 1,000,000 Jobs and Saved millions more. You would think that Mr. Rodriquez could have found himself worthy by getting a second job at McDonalds, Wendy's, Job Lots, or a Nursing Home.

If Mr. Rodriquez was patient he would be required to get the ObamaPelosi mandatory Government Health Care and pay only $1500 a month and still have money left over to put gas in his car. Somebody should have told him that the Elite Obama and Congress are living the Life of Reilly and are working harder than ever on a trickle down economy so this kind of low self esteem will not happen AGAIN or Again or ...... Go Figure?

[skyk-2009]

apachekid, I hardly think the President who we have asked to clean up the WORST Economic Meltdown since the Great Depression is at fault here. Where were you clowns when the Confederate Party and the Worst in our History was taking us from an economy that produced MORE jobs than any in HISTORY, with a Balanced Budget and Surplus, to Trickle Down? You know the Party of De-Regulation that removed all the regulations on Banks? It's a little ignorant,+ when you have that record, to complain about how long it's taking to clean up that mess.

[skyk-2009]

I don't know about this. I have mixed feelings really. I don't think someone going out and buying a gun, then killing those who he worked for is an answer. But when you look at the conduct of Corporate America in the last Three Decades.... Well lets just say it doesn't bother me nearly as much as seeing some working class kid, who had to join the Military to survive, blown up in Afghanistan.

[AJMarine12]

by formrusmcsgt November 6, 2009 11:48 PM EST

More correctly stated would be that guns aren't what's hated, just the fact that any moron can buy one....and often do




Guns are a tool.

Guns don't kill people, people kill people.

Semper Fi Sgt.

[skyk-2009]

AJMarine12, Semper Fi. A tool? Now I know of a lot of tools, some have been used to kill but I know of NO tool, except for a Gun, which has the sole purpose, none other, that to take life.

[AttentionDeficit]

skyk: bombs, too

[yamuttya]

US gun laws are insane.