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6 Shot, 1 Killed, Suspect Held In Orlando

I-4 Closed, Office Buildings, Schools Locked Down

POSTED: Friday, November 6, 2009
UPDATED: 8:54 pm EST November 6, 2009

At least one of six people shot on the eighth floor of a downtown Orlando office building at midday Friday has died and police said they arrested the shooting suspect at his mother's apartment.

The Fire Department told WKMG-TV it transported six trauma patients. Orlando Regional Medical Center said it had four trauma patients from the shooting with another on the way.

Barbara Jones of the Orlando Police Department told reporters early Friday afternoon they had identified the suspect as Jason Rodriguez, 40. About 2:15 p.m., police said he was arrested without incident by a SWAT team at his mother's apartment.

Police said Rodriguez, 40, is a former employee of Jacksonville-based Reynolds, Smith and Hills, which has a large office in the Gateway Center, a 17-story building on Legion Place near Lake Ivanhoe. CNN reported he was let go two years ago for performance reasons and was working at a Subway sandwich shop.

Jason Rodriguez walked to jail
Central Florida 13 Image
Jason Rodriguez is walked to jail.
Asked why he did it as he was led into jail, Rodriguez said, "Because they left me to rot."

RSH's chief financial officer Ken Jacobson told Channel 4 that Rodriguez was a beginning engineer who just didn't work out.

"He struggled with performance from the very beginning," Jacobson said. "We tried to work with him. He was not up to standards, so we let him go."

One man told WFTV-TV that someone screamed at him to get out of the building immediately. Other people were led out of the building, distraught and crying.

"We got back in our office and everybody kind of huddled in our office waiting for police," eyewitness Gerry Kilga said.

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

Interstate 4 was closed at state Road 50 in both directions for more than two hours. Nearby Edgewater High School, Parke House Academy and Lake Highland Prep were placed on lockdown. The ORMC emergency room was also locked down for a period of time.
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