(UPDATED): Orlando High Rise Shooter Arrested

Posted by AlterNet Staff, AlterNet at 10:27 AM on November 6, 2009.

UPDATE, via The New York Times:

A 40-year-old man walked into his former workplace in downtown Orlando, Fla., on Friday morning and opened fire, killing one person and shooting five others, the authorities said.

A police SWAT team detained the man, identified as Jason Rodriguez, about three hours later. The police said Mr. Rodriguez had fled the building — the 18-story Gateway Center, a glass-and-granite office building with easy access to the major highways — and went to his mother’s house about an eight-mile drive away.

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A mass shooting in an office high-rise in downtown Orlando, Florida has left two dead and six injured. The gunman is still at large, and office workers have barricaded themselves inside. The Orlando Sentinel reports:

Bodies were found on the 12th and 8th floor of Legions Place, a 16-floor building north of Colonial Drive. Only the 12th floor has been cleared. The shooter has not been found, said Deputy Chief Mike Droege of the Orlando Fire Department.

"The building is not secure now," he said. "It's still unfolding."

Seven people were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. One person complaining about chest pains was taken to Florida Hospital South.

"They have not found the shooter to my knowledge," Drudge added. "They're still clearing floor by floor."

Office workers are still inside. They have barricaded themselves inside and have received little information from authorities on whether it's safe to leave. One woman inside the building said they have been told the shooting possibly took place on the fourth or eighth floor.

"We've got everybody in one office, with the door barricaded with a chest of drawers. There are about 20 of us in here. We're scared," said one woman who is inside the building. She asked her name and that of her business not be used because she fears for her life.

"We're watching TV, trying to see what is going on, but we really don't know. We're scared. We're safe right now, but we're scared," she said.

Officers with assault rifles are looking for a suspect with blue shirt and blue jeans. Many have their weapons pointed at the parking garage.

Read the rest here.

Tagged as: shooting, orlando