1 Dead, 1 Injured In Cambridge Office Shooting
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) -- One person is dead and another injured after a shooting at a health insurance company in Cambridge, police said.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said a former employee, who was let go several months ago from Senior Whole Health, returned to the company's office on Charles Streets in Cambridge targeting a current employee Thursday morning.
People on scene in #Cambridge say it was an incident of workplace violence that ended in suicide #wbz pic.twitter.com/uVAuNyJpk0
— Bree Sison (@BreeSison) April 7, 2016
Police responded to calls of a man with a gun and a shooting at the office around 7:46 a.m.
The victim, 58-year-old Cambridge resident Charles Obeid, shielded himself with a briefcase as the former employee approached him outside the building and began firing with a shotgun. He was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Read: Target Of Cambridge Office Shooting Says Gunman Told Him 'You Deserve It'
Ryan said the man was struck in the face by shrapnel from shots that hit the side of the building.
"I'm still numb," Obeid told WBZ-TV. "It keeps coming back like a rewinding tape in my head how this happened. How could it happen?"
The gunman, who has been identified as 70-year-old Framingham resident Kermit Hooks, took his life shortly afterward, Ryan said.
Ryan said Hooks had been sitting in his car waiting for Obeid to arrive at work. She said Obeid was believed have been "involved" in Hooks' termination several months ago.
Police: Cambridge shooting victim was targeted by fired worker. Victim suffered facial injuries. Shooter took his own life. #wbz
— Beth Germano (@BethWBZ) April 7, 2016
Ryan praised the Obeid and his fellow employees for their actions in interrupting the incident and helping Obeid after he was shot.
"I think he's incredibly fortunate," said Ryan, who added that coworkers prevented "an even greater tragedy."
Ryan's office said in a statement that there is not believed to be any further threat to the public.
Many Senior Whole Health employees were already at work at the time of the shooting. Other employees arriving at 9 a.m. found their company blocked off, as their managers explained what had happened.
Employees at the company told WBZ-TV's Bree Sison that the shooter was not someone they realized would ever be a threat, and that the office had a family-like environment.
Senior Whole Health says on their website that the company helps members and their families "understand the complex world of healthcare," and that they specialize in catering to cultural diversity. The company has offices in New York as well as Cambridge.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karyn Regal reports