(11:22 a.m.) Orlando-Office Shooting

Related Photos

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda

Discussion

November 9, 2009

Anonymous The Meridian Star Mon Nov 09, 2009, 11:23 AM CST

MIKE SCHNEIDER,Associated Press Writer

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man who was in an Orlando office when a former employee came in and started shooting said Monday that the ordeal that left one dead and five injured lasted about a minute.

Mark Davidson, a vice president at the engineering firm Reynolds, Smith and Hills, said Monday that his co-workers stayed calm Friday and didn't scream as Jason Rodriguez entered a reception area of the eighth-floor office and began shooting randomly.

"Nobody was screaming or yelling," Davidson said. "It wasn't panicky."

The gunman pulled a pistol from a holster under his shirt in the reception area of the U-shaped office and began shooting. At first, Davidson said he didn't know what the noise was. He thought it might be balloons popping or book shelves falling over. There is only one main entrance to the office from outside, and it was typically unlocked during business hours.

The building had security guards posted at a desk on the first floor, but visitors could come and go with relative ease before Friday's shooting.

The noises kept getting closer and Davidson saw other people running, and he knew something was wrong.

Davidson ran to back of the office where other workers had gathered and they waited a moment, trying to piece together what was happening. They then saw the gunman from about 25 yards away as he had made his way about three-quarters through the U-shaped office. They fled.

"You're seeing the shooter and you put two and two together," Davidson said. "You knew we were, as a company, victims of a senseless crime."

Rodriguez has been charged with first-degree murder, and Orlando Police Chief Val Demings said Monday that more charges are expected. The shooting caused havoc in downtown Orlando as authorities scrambled to find Rodriguez, who was eventually tracked to his mother's home. He surrendered peacefully, but later remarked to reporters that he went on the rampage because his former co-workers "left me to rot."

An attorney for Rodriguez has portrayed the 40-year-old as a mentally ill man who fell victim to countless personal and financial problems. Rodriguez left his engineering job at the firm two years ago and hadn't been able to find comparable employment since then. He most recently made less than $30,000 a year at a Subway sandwich shop.

"There were performance issues over time and there had been reviews we had with Mr. Rodriguez trying to correct the situation and trying to direct him to another level," said Lerrie Jenkins, chairman and CEO of the firm. "It just didn't work out so we agreed mutually for him to leave the company and he signed a letter of resignation."

After his arrest Friday, Rodriguez told detectives that he blamed the firm for hindering his efforts to get unemployment benefits. Company officials were perplexed at that explanation given that he had worked elsewhere since leaving the firm.

"We worked with Mr. Rodriguez so that he was allowed the opportunity to voluntarily resign and be eligible for unemployment income," said Jim Avitabile, a vice president at the firm. "This was not an abrupt termination."

Otis Beckford, 26, was the lone fatality in the shooting. One of the shooting victims, Ferrell Hickson, was released from the hospital late Sunday. The other four victims remained hospitalized in stable condition.

Text Only

National News

Obama: Al-Qaida head bin Laden dead
Osama bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that murdered thousands of Americans, was killed in an operation led by the United States, President Barack Obama said Sunday.
A small team of Americans killed bin Laden in a firefight Sunday at a compound in Pakistan, the president said in a dramatic late-night statement at the White House.

May 2, 2011 1 Photo
Governors' races offer heated skirmishes
WASHINGTON (AP) - Some of the sharpest bare-knuckle skirmishes this election season are the races for governor, especially in states shouldering the highest unemployment rates and largest tax increases.
Many also are important in presidential elections, and both parties are pouring millions of dollars into statehouse races in the closing days of the campaign.

October 25, 2010
Employers looking at health insurance options
WASHINGTON (AP) - The new health care law wasn't supposed to undercut employer plans that have provided most people in the U.S. with coverage for generations.
But last week a leading manufacturer told workers their costs will jump partly because of the law. Also, a Democratic governor laid out a scheme for employers to get out of health care by shifting workers into taxpayer-subsidized insurance markets that open in 2014.

October 25, 2010
Governors brace for more economic turmoil
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the recession’s front lines, governors are struggling to chart the road ahead for states staggered by unrelenting joblessness and cut-to-the-bone budgets even as Washington reports signs of economic growth.
‘‘The worst probably is yet to come,’’ warned Gov. Jim Douglas, R-Vt., chairman of the National Governors Association, at the group’s meeting Saturday. He called the situation ‘‘fairly poor’’ in most states, adding that it ‘‘doesn’t look too good.’’

February 22, 2010
Senator's Office-Arrests
Four men accused of trying to tamper with Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu's office phones shared a common experience as young ideologues writing for conservative publications.

January 27, 2010 1 Photo
(10:18 a.m.) Runaway Convert Runaway Ohio girl to remain free of Muslim parents

January 20, 2010
(9:01 a.m.) Haiti-Americans US husband saves wife trapped in Haiti rubble
January 13, 2010
(1:58 p.m.) Hubble Photo Hubble telescope shows earliest photo of universe
January 5, 2010
(8:41 a.m.) Border GPS Phone points illegal border crossers to water
December 29, 2009
(8:53 a.m.) Airline Scare No danger on Sunday flight _ just an ill passenger
December 28, 2009
More National News Headlines

National News

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

(11:22 a.m.) Orlando-Office Shooting

Site Map

Contact Us