ORLANDO (CNN) – The gunman in Monday’s fatal shooting spree at an Orlando, Florida business targeted his victims and had a “negative relationship” with at least one of them, Orlando County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.
“He was certainly singling out the individuals he shot,” Demings told reporters Monday afternoon.
Authorities identified the shooter as John Robert Neumann Jr.
Neumann Jr., who allegedly shot to five people to death at Fiamma Inc. and then himself, told a new, temporary employee to get out of the building before he opened fire, Demings said.
He said Neumann Jr. had been fired from the company in April and had a minor police record including arrests for DUI and marijuana possession.
Demings said Neumann lived alone and had no family in the area. He was an Army veteran who was honorably discharged in 1999.
The victims have been identified as Robert Snyder, 69; Brenda Motanez-Crespo, 44; Kevin Clark, 53; Kevin Lawson, 46; and Jeffrey Roberts, 57.
After Monday’s shootings, Florida Governor Rick Scott issued a statement about the trauma the state has faced over the past year.
Almost a year ago, Orlando was the site of the nation’s worst terror attack since 9/11.
On June 12, 2016, a gunman killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub.
“Over the past year, the Orlando community has been challenged like never before,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said.
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