CHESTER, Pa. (TND) — A disgruntled employee is accused of shooting and killing his coworkers at a longstanding business in a Philadelphia suburb, according to officials.
"He shot five people, five coworkers... two are deceased, three are at the hospital. I'm asking everybody in this region that listening today to pray for them right now. They are in serious condition, and we are hopeful that they are able to survive," Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told local media outlets at the scene Wednesday morning.
The shooting happened at a Linen company, Delaware County Linen, around 8:30 a.m., according to Margie McAboy, Director of Policy and Public Engagement for the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office.
Multiple people were shot inside and outside the linen-rental and laundry services business at 2626 W. 4th Street, according to Stollsteimer.
Stollsteimer said one of the deceased was shot outside of the business and the other victim that died was shot inside.
"We have two individuals that unfortunately lost their lives just because they showed up for work today from a disgruntled employee," said Stollsteimer. "He came to work today, armed and shot five people."
The unidentified shooter was apprehended after fleeing the scene in a vehicle, according to officials.
Stollsteimer told new outlets that the shooting stemmed from a dispute at work.
Chester police remain at the scene.
A police official said one of the injured individuals is listed in critical condition.
Chester Mayor Stefan Roots said he received support from the White House in an email.
"We don't want to see this happen over and over again. As the mayor of Chester, I'm just so heartbroken that this occurred in our town," said Roots.
Roots advocated for tougher gun legislation."We can't have guns in the hands of the wrong people," the Democratic said.
It's unknown at this time if the suspect was carrying the weapon legally.
The mayor pointed out mental health, saying "you have to anticipate that there had to have been some type of mental health issue that would have an employee walk into his workplace, on a day of work, and take out his anger in such a violent way."
Roots said that a supervisor at the business was one of the victims. It's not known if that supervisor was among the dead.
Delaware County Linen has been in the community for nearly 30 years without any issues, like licensing, according to Roots. The company provides linen services for restaurants.
Editor's Note: This story is breaking and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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