Orlando shooter John Neuman identified, 5 dead in disgruntled workplace attack
The gunman was identified in the shooting at an Orlando business on Monday morning that left five people dead before he turned the gun on himself, police said. Five of the victims were identified as Robert Snyder, 69, Kevin Clark, 53, Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44, Kevin Lawson, 46, and Jeffrey Roberts, 57.
John Robert Neuman Jr., 45, walked into Fiamma Inc. off Forsyth Road in Orange County, near Full Sail University, just after 8 a.m., Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said in a news conference.
Deputies arrived two minutes later, where they found three men and a woman dead at the scene. A fifth person, a man, was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Seven people survived the shooting.
Neumann, who later killed himself, was an army veteran who was discharged in 1999.
He was fired from Fiamma Inc., an awning manufacturing company, back in April.
The employee had a criminal history “minor in nature,” with arrests for possession of marijuana and DUI.
Officers had been called to the company back in June 2014 for a “workplace violence incident” in which “he allegedly battled another employee here in the business,” Demings said.
He added that Neumann had a “negative relationship” with one of the employees he killed.
Officials believe Neumann was the only gunman and there was no indication he was going to carry out the attack, according to Demings.
“This violence is frustrating. The only way we have a fighting chance is to ask the public to report any suspicious activity,” Demings said.
The FBI was on the scene assisting local police on the investigation.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement that he has been briefed on the situation.
“Over the past year, the Orlando community has been challenged like never before,” Scott said.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who lost loved ones today. I ask all Floridians to pray for the families impacted by this senseless act of violence. I will remain in contact with the Orlando law enforcement community throughout the day as more information is made available,” the statement read.
The shooting comes a week before the one-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre, also in Orlando, where 49 people were fatally shot by Omar Mateen, an Islamic State extremist.
