News Archive
Underperforming engineer in office shooting spree
Released on 20/11/2009
Staff at a US engineering firm have had counselling after a former colleague went on a shooting spree, killing one and injuring five others.
On 6th November engineer Jason S. Rodriguez (pictured), aged 40, walked into the Orlando, Florida office of transportation engineering firm Reynolds, Smith & Hills Inc. (RS&H) and opened fire in reception, killing a 26-year-old AutoCAD technician and injuring five others, including a federal transport department official.
Rodriguez then left the building and was arrested some four hours later.
He had resigned from RS&H in 2007 after unfavourable performance reviews. In June 2008 he was fired from his next job – as an engineering inspector for the Orange County Public Works Department – after only four months. The county terminated him after he abandoned the job, according to Engineering News-Record (ENR).
RS&H is ranked 81 on ENR’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms, with US$150 million in 2008 revenue.
At his arrest, Rodriguez told police he was “going through a tough time right now,” says the police report. Rodriguez said he was harrassed at RS&H and that it hindered his unemployment benefits. RS&H denies that claim. A Rodriguez attorney was quoted saying his client is “very mentally ill.”
