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Former Employee At Orlando Business Fatally Shoots 5 People

By Renata Sago
Published June 5, 2017 at 4:38 PM EDT

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

A gunman entered a business in Orlando, Fla., today and killed five people, four men and one woman. The business makes awnings for recreational vehicles. Police received the call around 8 this morning. Renata Sago from member station WMFE reports.

RENATA SAGO, BYLINE: Officials say 45-year-old John Neumann Jr. walked into Fiamma, Inc., in northeast Orlando with a semi-automatic pistol and a hunting knife. He shot five co-workers in different parts of the large industrial building. Then he turned the gun on himself before law enforcement made it inside. There were seven employees on site who were not injured. Law enforcement officials described what happened as workplace violence caused by a disgruntled employee. Neumann had been fired in April, and back in 2014, he'd been involved in a complaint that he battered an employee. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JERRY DEMINGS: We have information that at least one of them he had a negative relationship with, but he was certainly singling out the individuals that he shot.

SAGO: Several law enforcement agencies are still investigating the incident, including the FBI. They are ruling the incident out as terrorism. What is known about Neumann's past is that he was a veteran who had been discharged in 1999. He'd been formally charged for possession of marijuana, a DUI and a misdemeanor battery. Todd Bluewater owns a company inside the Fiamma building. He knew the men and women who were shot.

TODD BLUEWATER: They're all just good people, and that's really all I can say about them. I have no clue why this is - why this has transpired.

SAGO: This incident happened one week after a gunman entered Orlando International Airport, causing it to be evacuated and delaying flights. It is also one week before the anniversary of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub that left 50 people dead and dozens wounded. For NPR News, I'm Renata Sago in Orlando.

(SOUNDBITE OF RATATAT'S "EVEREST") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
Renata Sago
Renata joined the WVIK News team in March 2014, as the Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fellow. She anchors during Morning Edition and All Things Considered, produces features, and reports on everything from same-sex marriage legislation to unemployment in the Quad Cities.
See stories by Renata Sago
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