Police said they do not know why a postal worker shot his wife, then ent to work and killed two fellow employees and wounded a third before shooting himself, but a union official said such tragedies are on the rise because of the workload.
The gunman, John Merlin Taylor, 52, was on life support systems Palomar Medical Center, where officials said he was brain dead.Police said Taylor, a 27-year veteran of the Postal Service, shot his wife, Elizabeth, 50, as she lay in their bed Thursday morning, then drove to the Orange Glen Post Office and emptied a .22-caliber pistol at co-workers, reloaded and fired some more and finally shot himself in the head.
Police said the letter carrier fired 15 to 20 shots, but passed by several people without harming them as he walked through the building.
The two dead men, Ronald Williams, 56, and Richard Bernie, 38, were shot behind the post office where they and Taylor usually had coffee together in the morning. Another employee suffered a minor gunshot wound and a fourth hurt herself scrambling for safety with the other dozen or so employees.
Taylor had no history of problems on the job.