John Robert Neumann Jr.: Who Was The Orlando Shooter, And What Was His Motive?

The gunman in Monday morning’s Orlando workplace shooting has been identified by authorities as 45-year-old John Robert Neumann Jr.

As CNN reported earlier today, the Orlando shooting took place at around 8 a.m. at Fiamma Inc., a company that manufactures recreational vehicle accessories. At that time, the then-unidentified gunman had reportedly barged into the premises, shooting and killing five people before turning the gun on himself. The five victims were identified as Kevin Clark, 53; Kevin Lawson, 46; Brenda Motanez-Crespo, 44; Jeffrey Roberts, 57; and Robert Snyder, 69.

Orange County (Fla.) Sheriff Jerry Demings said that most of the five victims were shot in the head, with some of them fired at multiple times. The gunman had also brought several hunting knives with him during the attack, but there was no evidence that he had used any of them.

Later on in the day, Orlando police officials got a positive identification on the gunman, naming him as John Robert Neumann Jr., a 45-year-old disgruntled ex-employee who was fired by Fiamma in April. According to Click Orlando, the gunman’s motive has yet to be fully fleshed out, but Demings believes that he wasn’t getting along well with some of his former co-workers at Fiamma.

“In terms of his total motive for shooting the specific individuals involved, we have information that at least one of them he had a negative relationship with, but he was certainly singling out the individuals that he shot.”

In relation to this, Demings noted that Neumann allegedly pointed his gun at a temporary worker, telling her to “get out of the business” and sparing her life.

Sheriff Demings on scene of tragic shooting with multiple fatalities. Getting briefing. Will address media shortly. pic.twitter.com/f7jZrmXuhl

— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) June 5, 2017

While Demings has stressed to the media that John Robert Neumann Jr. was a disgruntled employee who lost his job at Fiamma just a few months ago, Orlando police have yet to release information on why he was fired. Neumann was, however, involved in a June 2014 workplace incident, where he had allegedly battered a co-worker. Charges were not filed against him, and as of this writing, it doesn’t appear that the person Neumann had supposedly attacked three years ago was among the Orlando shooting victims.

Further information from Heavy suggests that Neumann was an Army veteran who received an honorable discharge in 1999. The report adds that the Orlando gunman was divorced in 1986, though this may be a typographical error — Neumann would have only been 14- or 15-years-old at that time.

Demings added that John Robert Neumann Jr., prior to today’s shooting, had a minor criminal record, with violations that include marijuana possession, misdemeanor battery, and DUI. The Heavy report suggests that based on online records, he had racked up “several” charges across multiple Florida counties since 1995. He lived alone in Central Florida with no immediate family nearby, and given his circumstances, officials believe that the Orlando shooting was premeditated and planned out in advance.

“In situations like this, my experience tells me that this individual made a deliberate thought to do what he did today,” said Demings.

“He had a plan of action and he executed his plan today.”

As of this writing, there is no indication that today’s Orlando shooting was motivated by terrorism. Authorities believe that Neumann had acted alone and had fired at his former co-workers on account of his being a disgruntled employee.

“At this time, we have no indication that this subject is a member of any subversive type of any organization. We have no indication that this subject is a participant of any type of terrorist organization,” said Demings.

As the Inquisitr reported earlier today, the shooting took place almost a year to the date of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre, which killed 49 and injured more than 50 others. While this year’s Orlando workplace shooting only took six lives, including that of gunman John Robert Neumann Jr., social media users have commented that today’s tragedy hit very close to home, especially for those who had lost friends and loved ones at Pulse.

[Featured Image by John Raoux/AP Images]