One killed, 5 injured in Orlando shooting

Fri Nov 6, 2009 9:30pm GMT
 

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - An ex-employee of an engineering consulting firm who was laid off in 2007 opened fire at his former workplace in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, killing one person and wounding five others, police said.

The suspected gunman, who caused panic for several hours at the Gateway Centre building in downtown Orlando, was arrested at his mother's home after fleeing the scene, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Police Chief Val Demings told reporters.

Police named the suspect as 40-year-old Jason Rodriguez, who had worked for 11 months as an engineer at the Orlando office of the Reynolds, Smith & Hill consulting company before being laid off for "deficient" performance, a company spokesman said.

CNN showed footage of Rodriguez being led away in handcuffs and said he replied "They left me to rot", when asked by reporters why he had opened fire.

The shooting occurred a day after a mass shooting at a U.S. army base in Texas which killed 13 people.

(Reporting by Barbara Liston; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and David Storey)

Photo
Photo
Life with the lions

Kenya’s Maasai warriors are known for being fearless lion killers but times have changed and the country’s lion’s population is in danger of being wiped out. Now the Maasai in southern Kenya are taking part in an initiative to preserve the big cats.  Blog 

 
Photo
Is an independent south Sudan now inevitable?

So, is it now inevitable that Sudan’s oil-producing south will decide to split away from the north as an independent country in a looming secession referendum in 2011?  Blog 

 
Photo
Do Ethiopia’s politicians mean it on democracy?

On the evening of the 20th of March 1878, Ethiopia’s two great rivals, Emperors Yohannes IV and Menelik II, came face-to-face to thrash out their differences.  Blog 

 
Photo
The African brain drain

Africa is suffering from a massive brain drain and it’s questionable whether enough of those highly motivated students studying in America will return home in large enough numbers to really make a difference...  Blog 

 
Photo
Is Sudan’s Darfur crisis getting too much attention?

Activists often say that the world is not paying enough attention to Sudan’s Darfur crisis. But could the opposite be true?   Blog 

 
Photo
Vatican synod urges corrupt African leaders to quit

Roman Catholic bishops called on corrupt Catholic leaders in Africa on Friday to repent or resign for giving the continent and the Church a bad name.  Blog