Thu, Dec 28, 2000 page1

• Disgruntled dotcom employee kills seven

  ATTACK A worker with a grudge against the IRS walked into his firm's accounting department, whom he blamed for not assisting in his tax dispute, and opened fire

  • AP
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  An employee wielding a semiautomatic rifle and a shotgun opened fire at an Internet consulting company, killing seven co-workers before being subdued by police, authorities said.

  Prosecutors were investigating whether Michael McDermott, 42, was upset about an Internal Revenue Service request to garnish his wages to pay back taxes, Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said on Tuesday.

  

  Police escort shooting suspect Michael McDermott from the offices of Edgewater Technology on Tuesday, in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

  PHOTO: AP

  She said Edgewater Technology Inc had agreed not to begin taking out money from McDermott's paycheck until after the holidays.

  However, McDermott had an angry outburst in the company's accounting department last week over the prospect of losing some of his wages, according to an employee who spoke only on condition of anonymity. He apparently felt the company was not doing enough to take his side against the IRS, the employee said.

  Most of the victims -- four women and three men -- worked in the accounting department. Coakley said the shootings were apparently not random, since the suspect bypassed several people during Tuesday's rampage.

  Two people were shot in the reception area and the others were killed at their desks in another wing of the building. Shell casings and bullets were found all over the office.

  "There was an enormous amount of firepower," Coakley said.

  She said McDermott did not have a permit for any of the weapons he was carrying: a semiautomatic assault rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a pistol.

  She said he had no prior criminal record.

  Police found McDermott sitting silently in the reception area, a body nearby, his weapons within reach. He was arrested without gunfire.

  "They made a split-second decision to hold their fire to try to effect an arrest," said Stephen Doherty, the police chief in this city 16km north of Boston.

  McDermott faced seven charges of murder at yesterday's arraignment. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington, who met with McDermott, would not comment on his demeanor or a possible motive.

  McDermott was a software tester who had worked at the company since March, said Mike Stanley, a team projects leader. He said McDermott recently had been coming in late and his performance wasn't as good as it could have been, but declined to elaborate.

  He said none of the victims was McDermott's supervisor.

  "He had nothing to do with any of them," Stanley said, a tear running down his right cheek. "It seems like a random ridiculous thing."

  In a statement, the company said McDermott's actions "apparently stem from occurrences in his personal life."

  Kevin Forzese, who l ived upstairs from McDermott in Haverhill, said the suspect had never mentioned money problems. He also said McDermott had mentioned that he collected antique guns, but he had never seen any weapons in McDermott's apartment.

  "He never talked about the company," Forzese said. "I talked to him about money and he said he was doing really well."

  Edgewater employs approximately 240 people in Massachusetts, said John Cooley, director of investor relations. The company is in the process of moving its headquarters from Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Wakefield. The company also has offices in Alabama, Minnesota and New Hampshire.
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