This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A gunman described by Florida police as “a disgruntled employee” shot dead five former colleagues at a business in suburban Orlando on Monday before killing himself, investigators said.

John Robert Neumann Jr, 45, entered the premises of Fiamma, a manufacturer of awnings for recreational vehicles, at about 8am, armed with a semi-automatic pistol and a large hunting knife, said Orange County sheriff Jerry Demings at an afternoon press briefing.

Demings said that Neumann, a US army veteran who was fired from the company for undisclosed reasons in April, began shooting almost immediately then moved through the building purposefully, “singling out the individuals that he shot”.

“Most of the victims were shot in the head, some multiple times,” Demings said. “He had a plan of action and he executed his plan today.”

The victims, four men and one woman, were all employees of the family-owned company in north-east Orlando and ranged in age from their early 30s to their 60s, Demings said.

Detectives interviewed eight uninjured witnesses whom the sheriff described as “survivors”, including one woman, a temporary employee, who was not known to the killer and who was spared.

“He pointed a firearm at her and told her to get out of the business,” Demings said. “The indications are that the subject reloaded the firearm at least once during the spree this morning.”

Deputies arrived within two minutes of a 911 call reporting an active shooter and found three men and the woman dead at the scene. The fourth male victim was taken to the Orlando regional medical centre with gunshot wounds but died there.

Demings said Neumann did not use the knife and appeared to have shot himself as deputies prepared to enter the building.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The gunman entered the premises of Fiamma, a manufacturer of awnings for recreational vehicles, at about 8am, armed with a semi-automatic pistol and a large hunting knife. Photograph: Gerardo Mora/Getty Images

The sheriff named four of the five victims as Robert Snyder, 69; Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44; Kevin Clark, 54; and Jeffrey Roberts, 57. Relatives of the other victim had not yet been informed.

Orange County detectives, assisted by FBI agents, were looking into the background of Neumann, who according to Demings received an honourable discharge from the army in 1999 and lived alone.

“In terms of motive, we have information that at least one of [the victims] he had a negative relationship with,” Demings said.

At an earlier briefing the sheriff said Neumann had a criminal history “minor in nature” including possession of marijuana and DUI, and that officers were called to Fiamma in June 2014 when Neumann allegedly assaulted a colleague.

“This is likely a workplace violence incident,” Demings said. “It appears this incident has nothing to do with any global terror activities. He was a disgruntled employee who came back to this business this morning.

“We have no indication that this subject is a member of any subversive-type organisation or terror organisation.”

The sheriff said a search warrant was being prepared for Neumann’s residence and that the subject appeared not to have held a licence to carry a concealed weapon.

An FBI spokesman, Ron Hopper, said members of the agency’s terrorism taskforce attended the scene as a matter of routine.

“As we would in any active shooting situation, the FBI responded in force,” he said. “We will remain with the sheriff’s department until our resources are no longer necessary.”

A later statement from the FBI’s Orlando office confirmed that agents had “determined there to be no direct nexus to terrorism”.

Rick Scott, the Florida governor, issued a statement noting that the incident came close to the first anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando that left 49 dead.

“Over the past year, the Orlando community has been challenged like never before,” he said. “I have been briefed by our law enforcement officials on this tragic incident and 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.”

Teresa Jacobs, the Orange County mayor, also referred to the Pulse shooting in expressing her condolences. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen this play itself out in our community and other communities across the nation,” she said.

“It’s incumbent on all of us not to become complacent or callous to these horrific situations but for each of our citizens to be vigilant.”