‘Disgruntled employee’ opens fire in Philadelphia-area linen store killing two coworkers and wounding three more

Two people have been killed and three others are injured after a shooting at a Pennsylvania linen store.

Two of the wounded are in critical condition, authorities said.

Officers responded to the Delaware County Linen around 8:30 am on Wednesday for the reported shooting, according to NBC Philadelphia. At least five people were shot with a handgun after showing up for work, police said.

“This is a sad situation,” Chester Police Commissioner Steven Gretsky said, according to NBC Philadelphia.

The suspect allegedly drove away from the scene but was stopped by police and taken into custody. The name of the suspect has not been released by police.

Authorities said the shooter is reportedly a disgruntled current employee at the linen store. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer described the shooting as “an absolute tragedy” to the media who gathered at the store. He added the employee had issues with his coworkers in the past, but there were no signs that the suspect was planning a shooting.

““Here you’ve got somebody who’s a disgruntled employee of this business, doesn’t like some of his coworkers for whatever reason, and decides to come in and kill them,” Mr Stollsteimer told CBS Philadelphia. “So we’ve got two people dead. These people just went to work today like every other day, thinking they’re just carrying on with their life and now they’re lying on the ground dead.”

“Just normal people trying to go to work. Provide for their families. Live the American Dream,” Mr Stollsteimer added. “This morning, before 10 a.m., they’re deceased. Their family’s lives are ruined.”

The city’s mayor also denounced the violence.

“It speaks to guns in America,” Mayor Stefan Roots said, noting that violent crime has been on the decline in the city, ABC News reports. “Violence is always unpredictable. We don’t know what conditions people are under, in a city that’s impoverished like ours.”

He called on state lawmakers to address gun violence through legislation.

“We can’t have guns in the hands of the wrong people,” Mr Roots said. “There had to be 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 — to not just the boss, but his coworkers, who he probably worked side-by-side with for years.”

Mr Roots told CBS Philadelphia that the White House had reached out to express its condolences to the community.

Police have not released the names of the people killed.

Delaware County Linen has been in business since 1988 and provides laundry and linen services to nearby restaurants, hotels and other businesses in the Philadelphia area.