Target Of Cambridge Office Shooting Says Gunman Told Him 'You Deserve It'
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – It was a terrifying start to the day at a Cambridge company as an armed former employee returned and opened fire on his former boss.
Seconds later the shooter turned the gun on himself and took his own life outside Senior Whole Health.
Read: 1 Dead, 1 Injured In Cambridge Office Shooting
Charles Obeid, a development director, arrived at his job about 7:45 a.m.
He told WBZ-TV he didn't see the shooter, identified as 70-year-old Kermit Hooks, of Framingham, sitting in a car.
But Obeid heard a shot, then saw the shotgun and Hooks' face.
"He said 'You deserve it.' Basically that's what he said," Obeid recalls.
Obeid says he fired Hooks from his job as a programmer four months ago for what he described as poor job performance. Police say Hooks returned with a purpose.
When the shots rang out Obeid says he shielded himself with his briefcase.
"I was ducking around my car and ran through to the building, but I know I got hit by two of them, at least two," said Obeid.
He was hit by shrapnel as the bullets actually ricocheted off the brick office building and sprayed the neighborhood.
Obeid says he learned later the shooter returned to his car and turned the shotgun on himself.
"It's sad to know someone can do that to himself," Obeid said. "Maybe he felt that maybe he killed me and that's why he ended his life. I have no idea."
The 58-year-old Cambridge resident said there were no threats after the firing and he had no contact with Hooks, who was placed on a probationary period before he was terminated.
It's a case of workplace violence that Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan calls all too familiar.
"Given the nature of the weapon, the fairly short distance between the two of them, some of the actions as I understand it from the coworkers really prevented an even greater tragedy," Ryan said.
She said the quick thinking actions of some co-workers may have helped diffuse a dangerous situation.
Obeid says it's a scenario that keeps running through his head as he remains shaken that he was targeted.
"Maybe something else played a big role here, I thank God for that." Obeid said.