Five people have been killed in a workplace shooting in Minnesota Thursday afternoon, according to police.
The dead include the shooter and four victims, most workers at a sign-making business. At least four others were injured in the shooting rampage, several critically.
The shooting occurred at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, says the Associated Press. The owner, Reuven Rahamin, 61, was killed, as was Keith Basinski, a UPS driver, who may have been picking up the company's shipments, a tragic case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Police have not revealed the identity of the shooter, but NBC News reports that a former receptionist at the company said the shooter had been laid off on Thursday.
"The one that was doing the shooting was quiet, kept to himself," Heather Buckingham told NBC. "Kind of odd."
The owner, Rahamin, started the company in his basement in the 1980s after emigrating from Israel, said his son-in-law Chad Blumenfield in a statement.
Rahamin, an "incredibly proud husband, son, father and grandfather, has passed away in a senseless act of violence," Blumenfield said. "Other members of the Accent family tragically lost their lives as well, and we mourn their loss."
"He loved his work and dedicated much of his energy to developing new and greener products," said Blumenfield, speaking to The Wall Street Journal. "He loved cooking and having people over at his home. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren and especially loved to take his grandson for bike rides."
The company specialized in making Americans With Disability Act-compliant signs, after patenting a method for producing braille signs.
Police said the shooter was dead when they arrived, responding to a 911 call and reports of gunfire.
"When officers arrived and entered the business to assist with the evacuation of employees, give aid to the victims and to search for the suspect, they found four victims dead from apparent gunshot wounds," said Sgt. Stephen McCarty.
Mayor of Minneapolis, R. T. Rybak, called the shooting a "horrible tragedy," and Governor Mark Dayton released a statement saying, "I deplore this senseless violence. There is no place for it anywhere in Minnesota. I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the innocent people killed or wounded."
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
