Officials: Gunman apprehended after killing 1, injuring 5 others at Orlando office building / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, November 6, 2009

Associated Press

November 6, 2009, 12:46 p.m. Updated November 6, 2009, 2:31 p.m.

Orlando, Fla — A gunman opened fire Friday in the offices of an engineering firm where he was let go more than two years ago, authorities said, killing one person and injuring five others.

Jason Rodriguez, 40, surrendered about three hours later, after officers saw him through the window of his mother’s home and asked him to come outside, Orlando Police Chief Val Demings said.

Asked by a reporter outside the police station why he did it, he replied: “Because they left me to rot.”

Demings said Rodriguez brought a handgun to the firm in a downtown office tower where he once worked as an engineer, but investigators are not sure what his motive was.

“This is a tragedy, no doubt about it, especially on the heels of the tragedy in Fort Hood that is on our minds,” Demings said. “I’m just glad we don’t have any more fatalities or any more injuries than we currently have.”

Charles W. Price, an attorney who represented Rodriguez in a bankruptcy case, declined to comment.

Camille Previlon told The Associated Press her uncle, engineer Guy Lungenbel, was shot in the back and was able to talk but had not said much about the shooting.

“He is stable,” she said. “He’s just hurting real bad in the back.”

Everyone who was shot was in the offices of Reynolds Smith & Hill, on the eighth floor. The five survivors were in stable condition, Demings said.

Company spokesman Mike Bernos said Rodriguez was an entry-level engineer who was fired in June 2007 after working there for a year.

“His performance wasn’t up to our standards, so we terminated him,” Bernos said. There had been no contact between the company and Rodriguez since then.

After the lunchtime shooting, people streamed out of the Legion Place building and some said they had barricaded themselves inside their offices while the gunman was on the loose.

Gerry Gilgo, who works on the floor where the shooting occurred, told The Associated Press she was meeting a co-worker at the elevators for lunch.

“She yelled, ‘There are gunshots! There are gunshots! Get back in your office,”’ Gilgo said.

Will Halpern, an attorney on the building’s 17th floor, was among the last group to be evacuated. He said the lobby was filled with about 20 officers in SWAT gear, carrying assault weapons, ready to search.

Interstate 4 was closed in both directions through downtown and nearby schools were locked down until the alleged gunman was caught.

Rows of ambulances lined up outside the building as police snipers took up positions around the building and officers on foot and horseback searched the area.

Discussion

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6 November 2009
at 12:56 p.m.

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rosben (Anonymous) says…

What on earth is going on????
6 November 2009
at 1:03 p.m.

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srj (Anonymous) says…

This kind of stuff happens everyday in America. Maybe this is more noteworthy due to the shooting of yesterday.
6 November 2009
at 1:05 p.m.

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yankeevet (Anonymous) says…

Too many people; and too few jobs in this country; not enough of the pie for everyone…………
6 November 2009
at 1:08 p.m.

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AlfVenison (Anonymous) says…

And too many guns.
6 November 2009
at 1:08 p.m.

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puddleglum (Anonymous) says…

hey look!
here we go again!
can't wait for Agnostix's fruitless name-calling to begin.

wowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowow!
6 November 2009
at 1:11 p.m.

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BigPrune (Anonymous) says…

But we are out of the recession the Administration and news media says so, right next to the 10%+ unemployment being the highest since 1983.
6 November 2009
at 1:19 p.m.

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lawrenceguy40 (Anonymous) says…

Yankeevet - you are right. We need to throw all non-citizens out of our country NOW. That would create full employment here. Heck, if we extended it to only naturally born citizens, barry o wouldn't be President and we wouldn't be in such a mess.

It will only get worse, people! Be careful with your vote next time.

6 November 2009
at 1:30 p.m.

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rodentgirl16 (Anonymous) says…

Muslim pychiatrists and now Hispanic engineers! This country is going to hell in a handbasket.
6 November 2009
at 1:39 p.m.

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musbhiorlo (Anonymous) says…

Here, let me explain how this happens, SSRI
6 November 2009
at 1:44 p.m.

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musbhiorlo (Anonymous) says…

waiting for everyone on the other post to start posting here about how Muslims in the military are the problem.
6 November 2009
at 1:48 p.m.

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rodentgirl16 (Anonymous) says…

Muslims in the military aren't the problem. Hispanics in engineering are the problem. How many lives will be lost before we ban them from becoming professional engineers?
(*sarcasm off*)
6 November 2009
at 1:50 p.m.

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musbhiorlo (Anonymous) says…

rodent, waiting for something funny to spew from your fingertips, still waiting….
6 November 2009
at 2:06 p.m.

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rodentgirl16 (Anonymous) says…

You'll probably have to keep waiting because I'm not that funny. Before I left for the afternoon, there was a coworker discussing the Fort Hood shooting and someone said that the shooter was a psychiatrist to which another coworker replied, “A Muslim psychiatrist.” Since I'm a Muslim, I get really sick of people adding that on as an adjective so I figured we might as well start identifying everyone who does something wrong by ethnicity or religion, thus the shooter was a Hispanic engineer. I could have said catholic, but not all hispanics are catholic and that would be an unfair stereotype. Got it?
6 November 2009
at 2:12 p.m.

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unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

I'm sorry, did I miss the part where this guy was acting in accordance with the beliefs he and thousands of others hold? Beliefs which will be defended as diverse and tolerant and harmless? Or is this guy a psycho. I'll bet psycho.
6 November 2009
at 2:13 p.m.

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musbhiorlo (Anonymous) says…

yeh, i can see why it would bother you. just between you and i, him being muslim had nothing to do with it.

6 November 2009
at 2:15 p.m.

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musbhiorlo (Anonymous) says…

Or is this guy a psycho. I'll bet psycho….yep, he's a psycho on medicine, what medicine? SSRIs
6 November 2009
at 2:15 p.m.

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denak (Anonymous) says…

Rodentgirl16 is right. You can't look at these two incidents and then condemn a whole race or religion.

How many times a day do we turn on t.v. and a White or African-American native born citizen has committed an atrocity?

If I remember correctly, it was a white guy who massacred people at the Luby's resturant right outside of Fort Hood.

Secondly, the engineers name is *Jason* Rodriqguez. Which would indicate to me that he is, at the very least, second or third generation American. Most first generation Americans still use traditional names from where their parents came from.

We don't know why Major Hasan killed the soldiers at Fort Hood. We can surmise that the motive for Jason's Rodriguez's killing was the fact that he got fired.
Obviously, that has nothing to do with his heritage.

Dena
6 November 2009
at 2:26 p.m.

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unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

A Race is a clump of genes. Might make you more likely to be a good long distance runner, maybe likely to sunburn, unlikely to be 7 ft tall. A religion is a philosophy, especially Islam, which is a political and philosophical Ideology. Being Hispanic gives one no ideological direction towards killing in the name of “hispanicness.”

Al-Qaedism absolutely makes you likely to kill in the name of Allah.
6 November 2009
at 2:30 p.m.

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rodentgirl16 (Anonymous) says…

Thanks Dena! A psycho is a psycho and that transcends religion, race, orientation, etc.
6 November 2009
at 2:40 p.m.

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unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

“We can surmise that the motive for Jason's Rodriguez's killing was the fact that he got fired.”

I'm betting the company that fired him got stimulus money and his was not one of the jobs “created” this year.

Just surmising.
6 November 2009
at 2:45 p.m.

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jonas_opines (Anonymous) says…

Applause for Dena. Too bad it will make not a dent in the hateful idiocy espoused by some.
6 November 2009
at 2:51 p.m.

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unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

“Thanks Dena! A psycho is a psycho and that transcends religion, race, orientation, etc.”

What about sane al-Qaedists? Can we call them sane? Or will that hurt your feelings, because some people decide to believe the Koran and Hadiths, and some like to pick the sweet parts and call themselves Muslim.
6 November 2009
at 2:56 p.m.

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scott3460 (Anonymous) says…

Punitive bankruptcy laws and the scaling back of society's safety net have consequences.

6 November 2009
at 2:59 p.m.

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unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

Lack of a safety net? Pick up a paper:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/04/news/…
6 November 2009
at 3:02 p.m.

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unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

safety net raided:

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2…
6 November 2009
at 3:02 p.m.

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bluerain (Anonymous) says…

Hmmm, it's hard to really tell what triggered both individuals, OK & FL, to act so violently…….racially related oppression/discrimination nicely presented as poor job performance is just another way to discriminate against minorities. I have no doubt that the racial minority groups have suffered the most from the recession. They are usually the last ones hired and the first ones laid off or even fired.
6 November 2009
at 3:06 p.m.

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unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

Well, bluerain, if so, our president just created 600,000 more potential rampagers last month. No wonder ammo is so hard to find.

Had Enough?
6 November 2009
at 3:08 p.m.

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consumer1 (Anonymous) says…

You can however, say those >*&%##)*!! humans. Man I hate my kind. Us two legged opposable thumbed self aware maniacs. We will be the ruin of this planet.
6 November 2009
at 3:09 p.m.

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rodentgirl16 (Anonymous) says…

It doesn't particularly hurt my feelings. Is there a sane “al-Qaedist” out there? It seems as though anyone who has gone that fanatical is a psycho, and that goes for members of all religions, not just Muslims. I'm also curious to which sweet parts you are referring?
6 November 2009
at 3:10 p.m.

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jonas_opines (Anonymous) says…

“Hmmm, it's hard to really tell what triggered both individuals, OK & FL, to act so violently…….”

Perhaps the problem is trying to tie these acts to one single cause. It seems that generally when people do it, it revolves around the agenda of the person doing the analysis.
6 November 2009
at 3:10 p.m.

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unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

“Quick, someone blame Reagan! No Jesus, blame Jesus! Or Adam: If he'd left Eve alone, none of this would have happened.”

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/nov…

6 November 2009
at 3:15 p.m.

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jonas_opines (Anonymous) says…

For instance, simply reading the links under “more like this” show incidents that fall outside of all of the above-proposed theories, except for the ones about random acts by random people.
6 November 2009
at 3:29 p.m.

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Wallythewalrus (Anonymous) says…

All this typing and finger pointing. Read the Kansas City Star, someone is shot every day in KC. Shocking!!! must have been a blue-skinned flying spermatazoon worshiping monster. Cause People would never shoot at one another for any reason.
6 November 2009
at 3:45 p.m.

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Irish (Irish Swearingen) says…

rodentgirl, I liked your comment earlier about banning Hispanics as engineers. It made me laugh.
Of course we know that all good Hispanics are Catholic.
:-)
But, think about this. If the soldiers who tortured at that prison and took the pictures had possessed a religious belief would they have done what they did?
Not according to the faith I was taught at St. Johns which also teaches respect for other faiths.
There is a lot of prejudice in troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistant doubtless fueled by the stress of the situation.
But it is not the best way to win friends for America and it does a great harm to those who are not WASP's and want to serve.
My daughter who works at Walmart told me she is horrified by how Muslim shoppers are treated by other shoppers.
“If looks could kill, they would all be dead,”
6 November 2009
at 4:01 p.m.

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monkey_c (Anonymous) says…

Rodent asks - I'm also curious to which sweet parts you are referring?
That made me chuckle. I guess I was wondering the same thing. Not being of the Islam faith I don't know all that many details. The “sweet parts” certainly don't get the publicity. I know it is generally a conservative religion and stresses family values. In a way, I guess — I'm torn on that statement. But at the same time it seems to be the most intollerant of religions from all that I see. Although some Baptists can be pretty intolerant too. Personally I think a lot of engineers that I have met seem a little off kilter. Blame the Engineers and definately, definately blame the head shrinkers.
6 November 2009
at 4:07 p.m.

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yankeevet (Anonymous) says…

“Carry a Glock and protect yourself”!!!
6 November 2009
at 4:22 p.m.

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Irish (Irish Swearingen) says…

If you really want to know you can google Islam and find out. You can even read the Koran online for free.
Some people are not going to change their preconceptions just because of the facts.
6 November 2009
at 4:31 p.m.

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KansasPerson (Anonymous) says…

“Asked by a reporter outside the police station why he did it, he replied: “Because they left me to rot.””

Well, there you go! Do we still have to call him “alleged”? Is that admission of guilt something you can use in court?
6 November 2009
at 4:52 p.m.

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tomatogrower (Anonymous) says…

“lawrenceguy40 (Anonymous) says…
Yankeevet - you are right. We need to throw all non-citizens out of our country NOW. That would create full employment here. Heck, if we extended it to only naturally born citizens, barry o wouldn't be President and we wouldn't be in such a mess.”

That includes everyone who is not full blooded member of a Native Tribe, and especially anyone whose name begins with Mac, as in Timothy MacVeigh. I agree, start packing now. When do you leave?

6 November 2009
at 4:58 p.m.

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jonas_opines (Anonymous) says…

Any economist worth their salt knows that Full Employment is either a myth or the product of Socialist Work Allocation.
6 November 2009
at 7:37 p.m.

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unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

“Any economist worth their salt knows that Full Employment is either a myth or the product of Socialist Work Allocation”

I really hope you repeat that for the next year. That'd be great, mmmkay? “Get used to it, 10% unemployment is justice!”
6 November 2009
at 8:14 p.m.

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Marion (Marion Lynn) says…

This guy is a nut.

The Ft. Hood shooter is a Muslim terrorist, so let's not mix our metaphors here, mkay?
6 November 2009
at 9:17 p.m.

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rodentgirl16 (Anonymous) says…

Irish and monkey_c,

It's kind of funny because I work with a lot of engineers and a lot of them are mutants. Sweet mutants, but mutants none the less. The engineers that I think of off the top of my head that are Latino are probably the least mutant-like people that I work with.

I can think of several passages that I would consider inclusive and tolerant, but I'm not going to be preachy and start quoting them here. In my experience though, if a Muslim comes from a more culturally conservative society, the stricter their interpretation of the religion, and of course, they consider that the correct interpretation.
6 November 2009
at 9:29 p.m.

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rodentgirl16 (Anonymous) says…

Marion,

Just curious, why do you think he's a terrorist, as opposed to a straight up nut? From what I've been reading, it sounds like he was proud to be in the Army, but he was also really traumatized by his psychiatric work with combat veterans, possibly even suffering from vicarious PTSD. He also gave away all of his possessions to a neighbor and offered her money to clean his apartment after he was gone, which is a big suicide warning sign. The military even warns troops to watch out for veterans who suddenly start giving away their things immediately before or after a deployment because it is, unfortunately, a common occurrence due to the immense stress.
6 November 2009
at 11:14 p.m.

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Marion (Marion Lynn) says…

“rodentgirl16 (Anonymous) says…

Marion,

Just curious, why do you think he's a terrorist, as opposed to a straight up nut? From what I've been reading, it sounds like he was proud to be in the Army, but he was also really traumatized by his psychiatric work with combat veterans, possibly even suffering from vicarious PTSD. He also gave away all of his possessions to a neighbor and offered her money to clean his apartment after he was gone, which is a big suicide warning sign. The military even warns troops to watch out for veterans who suddenly start giving away their things immediately before or after a deployment because it is, unfortunately, a common occurrence due to the immense stress.”

Marion writes:

Oh, I have been waiting for a Pseudo-liberal/Neo-socialist/Muslim-apologist just like you………………….

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/1…

“Inside Fort Hood Suspect's Mind

Debbye Turner Bell spoke with Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner about the possible mindset of the suspected Fort Hood shooter.

The Fort Hood shooting spree left 13 dead and dozens more injured. Hundreds of relatives crowded hospitals for information about their loved ones, Kelly Cobiella reports.

Fort Hood Suspect: 'Allahu Akbar'

Harry Smith spoke with Lt. Gen. Bob Cone, the Fort Hood Base Commander, about what happened during the deadly shooting.

Hasan's Actions “Despicable,” Family Says

(CBS/ AP) A classmate of the Fort Hood shooting suspect says Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was an outspoken opponent of the U.S. war on terror and called it a “war against Islam.”

Dr. Val Finnell was a classmate of Hasan's at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. Both attended a master's in public health program in 2007 and 2008.

cont'd:
6 November 2009
at 11:15 p.m.

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Marion (Marion Lynn) says…

cont'd:

Finnell says he got to know Hasan in an environmental health class. At the end of the class, students gave presentations. Finnell says other classmates wrote on subjects such as dry cleaning chemicals and mold in homes, but Hasan's topic was whether the war against terror was “a war against Islam.” Finnell described Hasan as a “vociferous opponent” of the terror war.

Finnell says Hasan told classmates he was “a Muslim first and an American second.”

(CBS/AP) Fort Hood Suspect: 'Allahu Akbar”

Fort Hood Suspect: 'Allahu Akbar'

Harry Smith spoke with Lt. Gen. Bob Cone, the Fort Hood Base Commander, about what happened during the deadly shooting.

(CBS/ AP) Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted “Allahu Akbar!” as he fired on his fellow soldiers, the base commander said Friday.

Lt. Gen. Robert Cone told “Early Show” co-anchor Harry Smith said officials had not yet confirmed that the suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, made the comment, which is Arabic for “God is great!” during the rampage Thursday, which also left 30 people wounded, including the gunman.

“Did he say anything as he was carrying out this act?” Smith asked Cone.

“There are reports, unconfirmed, that he was saying, 'Allahu Akbar,” ' Cone replied.

As he laid out what happened, Cone lauded the soldiers on-scene who struggled mightily to help others. “In talking to many of the soldiers in the hospital last night,” Cone said to Smith, “they reported almost a very calm and measured approach by the gunman, who went around and, in some cases, talked to one young man who was shot four times, and by the same shooter. And then when he thought — he said, 'I made the mistake of moving, and I was shot again.'

“And … as the shooter would change directions, the soldiers would scramble on the ground and try to help each other to carry each other outside the building. And at one point, the gunman realized a lot of the soldiers had started to escape, walked and started shooting outside the building and struck some of the soldiers as they were trying to escape.”
6 November 2009
at 11:41 p.m.

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Marion (Marion Lynn) says…

In light of the available information, I am certain that Maj. Nidal Malik is merely a poor, picked on Muslim.

7 November 2009
at 8:51 a.m.

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jonas_opines (Anonymous) says…

unsavoryagent (Anonymous) says…

“Any economist worth their salt knows that Full Employment is either a myth or the product of Socialist Work Allocation”

I really hope you repeat that for the next year. That'd be great, mmmkay? “Get used to it, 10% unemployment is justice!”

Errr… . right. Lots of room between 0 and 10%, so you can stop the spin, go read some books on economics, and realize that I'm right. Somewhere between 3 and 5% unemployment is usually seen as the goal.