Disgruntled California Plant Worker Shoots 3, Kills Himself

Monday morning at Kenyon Press, a menu printing plant in Signal Hill, California, started out as it does every week. But a little after 9:00 a.m., Jose Mendez, a 68-year old worker at the plant, walked past a superior and opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun, shooting three people before killing himself.

According to police Capt. Mary Risinger, Mendez had been upset about job cutbacks that were affecting all of the employees at the plant. The owner of Kenyon Press wasn’t at the plant when the shooting took place, but he told officials that the reduction in work hours had begun about six months ago. Mendez hadn’t been given any hours to work for the last six weeks. "So he was upset about that," Risinger said. "About not having enough work."

When Mendez walked in, he said "shut up" to someone, and then began firing. The three employees he shot evidently helped him to get the job at Kenyon about a year ago, Risinger said. About a dozen employees were in the plant when Mendez began shooting. A female worker was able to lock herself inside a room and call 911. Two of the wounded employees fled the building by the time police arrived. Officers helped the other wounded man out, along with the employees still inside. But before the SWAT team entered the building, Mendez shot and killed himself.

Two of the victims were taken to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Rafael Mendoza, 46, was shot once in the elbow and once in the back, fracturing part of his spine. Another victim, Sergio Garcia, 49, was shot once in the shoulder and once in the chest. Both are in stable condition. The third victim, whose identity and condition have not been released to reporters, was taken to St. Mary Medical Center.

A construction worker across the street, Rev Luna, gave reporters a description of what the chaos was like at the plant. "Some of them were running from the back of the building," said the 34-year-old Luna. "The other ones were coming out from the front door. And the cops were pulling them out with guns drawn and frisking them down."