Orlando shooting? WTH is going on...

[Noble Work]

What is going on with people these days? Another shooting in Orlando in an office building. Two confirmed dead.

[Noble Work]

They think dude is still on the loose or STILL in the building!!!!

[LogAKAlly <3'n Keef]

They found him - he used to work there over 2 years ago.

Dammmn that's some delayed and repressed ass resentment!

[tillions]

Hey yall. Please pray for those affected by this as well as for the people doing the shooting. I left early from work on Friday and was told later on that a SoRHOr was shot during this madness.

[T-Rex91]

Folks are frustrated, broke, and either unemployed or overworked by employers who know no one is walking away from a check right now when so many other want that job. I'm sure many more people would be seeking professional counseling right now if they could afford it. It's so sad.

[DamieQue™]

There was another shooting?

*Goes to CNN.com*

<--x didn't hear about it

[Oldskool]

*going with DQuebie to CNN.com*

[Kyng of JDs]

and people wonder why its a big deal (here in TX) that CHL holders should be allowed to carry on the job....

[peppermint]

The alleged shooter is now on suicide watch

orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-orlando-shooting-rampage-monday-20091109,0,320618.story

OrlandoSentinel.com
Orlando shooting: 'It's all about the healing,' CEO says as grief counselors get busy
By Walter Pacheco and Amy L. Edwards, Sentinel Staff Writers

1:21 PM EST, November 9, 2009

Today begins the healing process for employees of RS&H and their families, an executive with the engineering consulting firm said this morning.

About 50 people – firm workers and their families – gathered at College Park Baptist Church today, where they met with grief counselors.

RS&H Chairman and CEO Leerie Jenkins made statements at a news conference outside the church, three days after a gunman killed one person and injured five others during a rampage at the company's Orlando office, located on the eighth floor of the Gateway Center.

"We are here to really begin the healing process. Inside, we are going to be going through group counseling and individual counseling starting today and moving forward as long as we need to provide that to our employees," said Jenkins, whose company was formerly known as Reynolds, Smith & Hills. "So it's all about healing for our employees and their families."

Jenkins said his company is saddened by the death of employee Otis Beckford. The five injured are recovering and moving forward with the healing process, he said.

Meanwhile, Orlando Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Katie Dagenais today confirmed that four patients are recovering at the hospital. Victims Gregory Hornbeck, 39; Guy Lugenbeel, 62; Edward Severino, 34; and Keyondra Harrison are in stable condition.

One of those patients will undergo surgery today, but Dagenais did not say which one. Two patients had surgery on Friday.

The fifth victim, Ferrell Hickson, already has been released after being treated at Florida Hospital South.

Jenkins asked the media to respect the privacy of his employees.

The eighth-floor of the Gateway Center remained closed today, though other parts of the building reopened for the first time since the shooting.

Jenkins said they started the cleanup process Sunday and hope to be back in the office later this week.

Orlando police Chief Val Demings also addressed the media this morning, and said the first-degree murder charge against Jason Rodriguez, a former RS&H worker, is "just the beginning."

Her agency continues to investigate the shooting.

Rodriguez, 40, is being held without bond at the Orange County Jail on a first-degree-murder charge.

"You can imagine how traumatic this has been," Demings said.

Mark Davidson, vice president of RS&H Construction Services, was the highest-ranking company employee in the Orlando office Friday.

This morning, he detailed for reporters what he witnessed.

Davidson said that at first, he didn't realize what was happening.

"It was just a series of gunshots," he said. "You don't recognize a gunshot at first. You try to wrap your mind around what is this noise? It's very sharp, loud noises."

The noise progressed through the U-shaped office.

He wondered if there were balloons popping or if bookshelves had fallen over.

"They're getting closer and closer and you start seeing people fleeing out of the building," he said. "You know something's wrong. Definitely something's gone wrong."

He spotted Rodriguez, who he did not know, from a distance of about 25 yards. He recalled seeing him firing his weapon.

Davidson and a group of people made it to a back door, and ran down a stairwell to the sixth floor.

He said everything happened so quickly – he estimates within a minute – and yet things were quiet orderly. There was no screaming in the office.

"Adrenaline takes over," he said

Dwight Bain, a Winter Park therapist who trained the counselors meeting with people this morning at the College Park church, said it is normal for those involved in such trauma to go through some sort of psychological reaction to the shooting.

"A normal psychological reaction can include not being able to eat or sleep," Bain said. "We are here today to help these people get back to the day before the critical incident."

Bain said counselors will be using "critical incident stress debriefing -- a technique used to help victims cope with the same kind of trauma caused by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"We have them talk about what they experienced...what they felt...and bring them back to a normal state of equilibrium.

Counselors include chaplains from the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office, as well as pastors and lay pastors from the church.

Meanwhile, yellow crime-scene tape came down at the Gateway Center office building, where things were quiet except for TV crews.

Cynthia Zacks, a worker in the high-rise at 1000 Legions Place, sipped her coffee at the Sheraton hotel across the street, hesitant about her return.

"It's going to be strange getting back into the building after it was such a highly publicized crime scene," she said. "I've never been involved in anything like this and it's just shocking, sad and scary."

Zacks is one of the dozens of workers who fled from the building after the shooting.

An Orlando police officer stood in the lobby of the Gateway Center this morning. Arthur's Catering had coffee, juice and pastries set up for workers arriving.

"It's somber and a bit surreal," said Mark Vella, who works on the 12th floor.

Around noon, Dr. Walter Jackson with First Baptist Church of Winter Park will be in the lobby to offer prayer.

Villa said security was beefed up this morning with the officer in the lobby and additional security guards.

Others returning to the Gateway Center had a positive attitude.

"The only way to make it through this is to have a normal day," said Scott Flower, who works inside the Gateway Center.

Flower had left the building 10 minutes before Friday's shooting.

"I feel real fortunate I wasn't there, but I was still worried about my friends," he said.

As for his safety after the shooting, Flower feels secure.

"This building is no less safe than any other," Flower said. "It can happen really anywhere."

Check back for updates.

Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel