2017 Orlando Factory Shooting

On the morning of June 5, 2017, John Robert Neumann Jr., a 45-year-old former employee, entered a Fiamma Inc. facility near Orlando, Florida, through a rear entrance at approximately 7:50 a.m. He was armed with a 9mm handgun and two knives, though the knives were not used. Neumann proceeded to the front office, where he shot two people, then moved to the break room and killed three more. One victim was shot eight times. Neumann pointed his gun at one woman but told her to "get out," sparing her. In total, he singled out and shot five victims in the head, firing 24 rounds from the handgun before fatally shooting himself as sheriff's deputies responded to the scene.

The five victims were identified as Robert Snyder, 69, the factory's lead manager; Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44; Kevin Clark, 53; Jeffery Roberts, 57; and Kevin Lawson, 46. Approximately a dozen employees were in the office at the time, and eight others present during the shooting escaped without injury.

Neumann had previously worked at Fiamma, a manufacturer of awnings for recreational vehicles and campervans, but was fired in April 2017 for starting fights with coworkers and for stealing and reselling company awnings. The manager who fired him later said he feared Neumann might return seeking revenge. Police had been involved with Neumann once before, in May 2014, after he was accused of battery against a coworker at the factory, though no charges were filed at that time.

An autopsy determined that Neumann shot himself in the head and that he was intoxicated at the time of the shooting and his death. He had no known history of mental illness but had a record of minor, non-violent offenses, mostly traffic-related. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said Neumann did not appear to belong to any subversive or terrorist group and characterized him as a "disgruntled employee."

The shooting occurred about one week before the first anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, which had been the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in U.S. history at the time. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson noted that Orlando "has seen too much violence" in the preceding year. Florida Governor Rick Scott called it a "senseless act of violence" and asked residents to pray for the affected families. Fiamma Inc. issued a statement describing the company as "heartbroken." A vigil was held two days after the shooting, and a local youth sports league raised funds for the children of victim Kevin Clark, who were left orphaned after his death, as their mother had died in 2008. The office was closed in remembrance on the one-year anniversary of the shooting in 2018.