Fired worker held after 2 die in gun rampage

updated 11:50 a.m. ET Aug. 2, 2008

BRISTOL, Pa. - A worker recently fired for absenteeism showed up outside a book warehouse in suburban Philadelphia on Friday, fatally shooting a veteran employee and a temp before being arrested, authorities and the company said.

The victims worked for Simon & Schuster's distribution center in Bristol, company spokesman Adam Rothberg said. The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. during a shift change at the warehouse, which employs 125 full-time workers, Rothberg said.

The gunman was identified as Robert Diamond, 32, Bucks County District Attorney Michelle Henry said. He surrendered at the scene without a fight, authorities said.

Diamond told authorities he drove around for an hour before arriving at the warehouse and shooting Angel Guadalupe, whom he did not know, as the temporary worker was leaving the site, Henry said.

Guadalupe, 46, fell out of his vehicle and collapsed on the ground, at which point Diamond stood over him and kept firing, he told police.

He then spotted forklift operator Reginald Woodson, 52, running toward the building and started firing, Henry said. Woodson, a 20-year employee and father of four, was shot in the back, she said.

Diamond told authorities he had been harassed by co-workers and was upset after getting a severe reprimand in March for calling a black co-worker "boy," Henry said at a news conference.

Rothberg said the man who was arrested began working at the plant in 2002 and was fired in April for absenteeism.

The prosecutor did not say if the suspect had a lawyer yet, and calls to Bristol police were not returned.

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