Because, you know ... Orlando just needs this:
A disgruntled former employee at an Orlando, Florida RV accessory business fatally shot five workers Monday morning before turning the gun on himself, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
The shooting was first reported around 8 a.m. at the headquarters for Fiamma, Inc. Once deputies arrived on scene, they found three men and one woman already dead, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said during a press conference.
A fifth man was transported to a nearby hospital where he died, according to Demings.
Authorities believe suspect John Robert Neumann Jr., 45, who was fired in April, shot himself just before deputies entered the scene two minutes after they were first called, Demings said at a later press conference.
(Rosenblatt and Silva↱)
The shooting was first reported around 8 a.m. at the headquarters for Fiamma, Inc. Once deputies arrived on scene, they found three men and one woman already dead, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said during a press conference.
A fifth man was transported to a nearby hospital where he died, according to Demings.
Authorities believe suspect John Robert Neumann Jr., 45, who was fired in April, shot himself just before deputies entered the scene two minutes after they were first called, Demings said at a later press conference.
(Rosenblatt and Silva↱)
The dead:
• Kevin Clark, 53
• Kevin Lawson, 46
• Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44
• Jeffrey Roberts, 57
• Robert Snyder, 69
• Kevin Lawson, 46
• Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44
• Jeffrey Roberts, 57
• Robert Snyder, 69
Kevin Clark's wife died six years ago; his children just ran out of parents↱.
†
There are any number of swirling sentiments political, but they do serve to illustrate a more pertinent question: Say what we will about terrorism abroad, or lands in constant warfare, and set aside for the moment the part about how we probably shouldn't be saying a whole lot about a bunch of shit we helped start, but ...
... I mean, think about it. This isn't "terrorism". It's a mass killing in a workplace. I think I can almost remember a time when this sort of thing was supposed to be new or shocking, but, no, it never really was. Someone, somewhere, had it comin' to him since before America began. And for a moment I'm thinking back to this one police sweep I used to complain about, picking up my six-four, dark-haired, bearded pot dealer at a time the cops were allegedly looking for a five-seven, blonde shooter; there was really no mistaking one for the other, but, you know, whatever. Seattle.
Oh, wait. Right. Workplace shootings.
I can actually remember the morbid pub humor: It's not just the Post Office, anymore.
Going postal in the boatyard. Okay.
And that was, like, what, nineteen, twenty years ago?
Why is this an American way of settling things? Once upon a time we appealed to suicidals that way. And, it's true, I always questioned the wisdom, but still. Something about final solutions and temporary problems, except now they're taking people with them.
We can say so much about terrorism and how stupid it is to die for God or just the cheap thrills of directionless, purposeless destruction. And that's the thing; before Daa'ish, terrorists at least pretended to have a reason. And say what we will about terrorism, but I'll bet you it sounds like a better reason than anything we might come up with for shooting up an American workplace.
Still, though, not only are these human beings destroyed by what appears to be vendetta, so also is this a human being so distressed as to settle up whatever disputes in this manner.
A conversation, for instance, we so rarely get to have:
"Oh, great. You just shot five people to death. Feel better?"
―No, of course not! That was never the point!
"Right ... right. So: What was?"
―No, of course not! That was never the point!
"Right ... right. So: What was?"
This wasn't about the oil companies polluting the water and making the children sick. Nor was it about foreign occupiers. It was, as near as anyone can tell, about a job. Robert Snyder fired the shooter, Neumann, in April.
Today is just another day in these United States. Six people died in a workplace mass shooting. This is very sad, but it will happen again, soon enough, and no, I'm not expecting to have any better an idea why this is an American way of settling up when it does.
____________________
Notes:
Rosenblatt, Kalhan and Daneilla Silva. "Orlando Shooting: 5 Killed at RV Business by Angry Ex-Employee". NBC News. 5 June 2017. NBCNews.com. 5 June 2017. http://nbcnews.to/2rNGpIS
Speck, Emilee. "Widower, billiards player among Fiamma Orlando shooting victims". ClickOrlando. 5 June 2017. ClickOrlando.com. 5 June 2017. http://bit.ly/2qRO31M