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A gunman opened fire on Friday in the offices of an engineering firm where he was sacked more than two years ago, killing one person and injuring five others.

Jason Rodriguez, 40, who surrendered to police about three hours after the shooting, told reporters he had been ''left to rot''.

He said he was ''angry'', as police led him away in handcuffs.

He was arrested after officers saw him through the window of his mother''s home and asked him to come outside, according to Val Demings, Orlando Police Chief.

Later reports emerged that he was so deep in debt that he did not have the money to visit his son 30 minutes away and had told a bankruptcy judge that he had debts totalling three times his annual salary.

As officers led a handcuffed Jason Rodriguez into a police station, a reporter asked the divorced 40-year-old why he had attacked his former colleagues.

"Because they left me to rot," said Rodriguez, without saying who.

The shooting on the eighth floor of an office tower paralyzed downtown Orlando for three hours.

All of the victims worked at the firm of Reynolds, Smith and Hills, where Rodriguez was an entry-level engineer for 11 months before he was ''let go'' in June 2007, the company said.

Supervisors said his performance was not up to standard and when he did not improve, he was fired.

Police said Rodriguez used a handgun in the shooting, but they did not release additional details, including how he got inside the building, whether he said anything to people in the office or how he initially escaped.

The five wounded people were in stable condition at Orlando hospitals.

Rodriguez'' bankruptcy filing - and his former mother-in-law - suggested he was plagued by money worries.

His mother-in-law, America Holloway, told The Associated Press that Rodriguez and her daughter, Neshby, were married for about 6 years before divorcing several years ago.

Holloway said the couple lived with her in Orlando for several years while they were married and that Rodriguez abused her daughter and once threw all her clothes into the street.

Camille Previlon told AP Television her uncle, engineer Guy Lungenbel, was shot in the back and was able to talk but had not said much about the shooting.

After the lunchtime shooting, some people streamed out of the Legion Place building while others holed up in their offices.

A major highway was closed, and nearby schools were locked down.

Rows of ambulances lined up outside the building as police snipers took up positions around the building and officers searched the area, on foot and horseback.

The Florida shooting came a day after a gunman at the Fort Hood military base in Texas killed 13 people and wounded about 30.