A man accused of shooting six people, killing one, at a Florida company where he used to work had become severely mentally ill as he watched his life crumbling away, according to his lawyer.
Jason Rodriguez, who allegedly opened fire randomly in an office building in Orlando on Friday, "is a compilation of the front page of the entire year - unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, divorce - all of the stresses", said Bob Wesley, a public defender. "He has been declining in mental health."
Mr Rodriguez, 40, allegedly went on a shooting spree at the offices of Reynolds, Smith & Hills, an engineering company which had sacked him in 2007 for what it said was substandard work.
He has been charged with murdering Otis Beckford, who was next to the company's reception desk when he walked into the offices.
According to prosecution papers, Mr Rodriguez later told the police: "I'm just going through a tough time right now, I'm sorry." Prosecutors said that when asked by a reporter to explain what he did, he replied: "They know why I did it; they left me to rot."
Now unemployed, Mr Rodriguez could not pay the child support he owed for his eight-year-old son and he had nearly $90,000 (£54,000) in unpaid bills.
His former mother-in-law, America Holloway, said he was a schizophrenic who, when not taking his medication, was paranoid and angry, blaming others for all of his problems and convinced everyone disliked him.
Miss Holloway believed Mr Rodriguez's decline had spiralled because he had been unable to afford treatment.
According to his arrest affidavit, he believed the engineering company was blocking his application for benefits.
He had been an engineer with the company but his most recent job had been working in a fast-food restaurant.
"Nobody intentionally goes from solving complex mechanical problems to trying to solve what type of condiments to put on a sandwich," said Mr Wesley. He said his client's situation appeared to be a "classic stress overload".
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