Fired warehouse employee kills five

ORLANDO: A man fired from his warehouse job in April returned to his old workplace near here yesterday and fatally shot five people before killing himself, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.

The 45-year-old suspect had a history of misdemeanor criminal offences but was not linked to any terror organisations, Demings told a press briefing.

“He was a disgruntled employee who came back to this business this morning.”

The unidentified assailant arrived at the company, which makes accessories for recreational vehicles and campers, at about 8am (8pm in Malaysia) armed with a handgun and a knife, Demings said.

He did not use the knife but “shot five innocent people and then turned the gun on himself and killed himself,” the sheriff said, adding that seven people survived.

On June 12, 2016, 49 people were killed at the Pulse nightclub here, the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

WFTV, a local television station, interviewed a woman who said her sister was in a washroom when she “heard a bang”. She emerged and saw someone on the floor.

“My boss is dead,” the worker told her sister during a cellphone call.

The woman told reporters her sister was not shot but received treatment for shock. Neither woman was identified. – Reuters