Several casualties during shooting in Orlando

Local broadcaster WFTV reported there were five victims who had been killed in the assault. The 45-year-old attacker apparently also killed himself, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

The assailant "shot five innocent people this morning, then turned the gun on himself and shot himself," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told reporters. He was later identified by the sherriff's office as John Robert Neumann Jr.

The sheriff's office added that one of the five victims had died at a hospital and that an investigation had been launched, while further details about the shooting remained unclear.

The incident occurred in an industrial area on Forsyth Road in the northeast Winter Park neighborhood of the city, the sheriff's office said, adding later that the shooting had occured at the offices of Fiamma, an Italian company selling awning and other accessories for campervans.

'Disgruntled employee'

The Orange County Sheriff's Office stressed that the incident did not appear to be related to terrorism but rather that Neumann, apparently a former employee at Fiamma, was angry for having been fired from his job there in April.

Sheriff Jerry Demings told reporters that Neumann "was a disgruntled employee that came back to this business this morning."

Orlando still reeling from 'Club Pulse' attack

This is the second major shooting in the city in just under a year. On June 12, 2016, 49 people were massacred at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

“Over the past year, the Orlando community has been challenged like never before," Florida Governor Rick Scott said in a statement.

"I ask all Floridians to pray for the families impacted by this senseless act of violence."

ss/tj (Reuters, AFP, dpa)