A disgruntled former employee armed with a handgun shot five people, killing two, at a linen company outside of Philadelphia on Wednesday morning, officials said.
The shooting happened at about 8:30 a.m. at Delaware County Linen in Chester, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles outside Philadelphia, according to Justin Tibbels, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office. The company was founded in 1988 and provides linen rental and laundering services to businesses in southeastern Pennsylvania and surrounding states, its website said.
Three people injured in the shooting were taken to a nearby hospital, Tibbels said. One of the victims was in critical condition, Commissioner Steven Gretsky said at a news conference. The conditions of the other two were not available.
One of the people shot was the suspect’s supervisor, Chester Mayor Stefan Roots said.
“Gun violence, workplace violence should not be tolerated anywhere in America,” Roots said. “And we hate to be at its epicenter today.”
The shooting suspect appears to be a disgruntled employee, according to Margie McAboy with the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office. The suspect was taken into custody after attempting to flee, Gretsky said.
There was no other information available on the suspect.
“We have two individuals who unfortunately have lost their life just by showing up at work today,” District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told reporters. “The employee came to work today with a firearm, took out his anger on … five employees he works with.”
Sisters Sandra Castro, 19, and her sister Esthe Castro, 25, were working at different washing machines Wednesday morning when the shooting broke out, they told the Philadelphia Inquirer. They heard screams break out on the floor and bolted for the door with their other co-workers.
“They were screaming, ‘He’s killing them! He’s killing them!’” Sandra Castro told the outlet.
The sisters said they feared for their lives and were worried about each other.
“I kept looking for (Sandra),” Esthe Castro told the Inquirer while holding back tears. “I was just so happy when we found each other outside.”
There have been at least 168 mass shootings in the country so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks incidents. Mass shootings are shootings in which at least four people have been shot, not including the shooter, regardless of whether they die.
Mass killings, as defined by a tracker from USA TODAY, Northeastern University, and the Associated Press, include those with at least four people killed, not including a suspected shooter. There have been 15 such killings in 2014, according to the tracker.
Roots called for “stronger” gun legislation in the wake of the shooting on Wednesday.
“We don’t want to see this happen over and over and over again,” Roots said.
