Fired factory worker kills five at former
Florida workplace
Send a link to a friend
[June 06, 2017]
By Bernie Woodall
(Reuters) - A man who had been fired in
April from his job at an awnings factory near Orlando, Florida, returned
to his old workplace on Monday and fatally shot five people he had
targeted, before killing himself, a county sheriff said.
John Robert Neumann Jr., a 45-year-old U.S. Army veteran, was armed with
a semi-automatic handgun and hunting knife when he entered a business
called Fiamma, which describes itself as one of the world's largest
manufacturers of awnings for recreational vehicles.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings described Neumann as a disgruntled
ex-employee but said it was not clear why he was fired or what prompted
his actions. He was not linked to any militant organizations, the
sheriff told reporters.
Most of the victims were shot in the head, some multiple times, he said.
"He was certainly singling out the individuals that he shot," said
Demings, who earlier described the shooting as "likely a workplace
violence incident."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jun/06/images/ads/current/christian_village_sda_031616.png)
The victims included Robert Snyder, 69, who was chief of the Fiamma
site, said Todd Bluewater, owner of a neighboring business. Also killed
were Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44; Kevin Clark, 53; Jeffrey Roberts, 57;
and Kevin Lawson, 46, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
It appeared the shooter was targeting managers, Bluewater told Reuters
by phone.
Eight other people at the site when Neumann opened fire were not
injured.
Nearly a year ago, a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State
militant group killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the
deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Demings said the incident on Monday morning lasted just minutes.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/060617pics/news_f13.jpg)
Investigators work the scene of a fatal workplace shooting in
Orlando, Florida, June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel LeClair
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jun/06/images/ads/current/brickey_lda_061314.png)
At one point, Neumann told a temporary employee he did not know to
leave the premises. He reloaded his handgun, for which he did not
have a permit, at least once during the incident and killed himself
as deputies were about to enter the warehouse, the sheriff said.
Law officials were seeking a search warrant for Neumann's home in
the area, where he lived alone, Demings said.
Neumann was honorably discharged from the Army in 1999 and had a
history of misdemeanor criminal offenses, such as possession of
marijuana and driving under the influence.
In June 2014, Orange County deputies investigated a report that he
battered another employee at Fiamma, but no charges were brought,
Demings said.
(Reporting by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Additional
reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York, Letitia Stein in Tampa,
Fla., and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Colleen
Jenkins and Peter Cooney)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jun/06/images/ads/current/napa_bch1-3108.png) |