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At about 7 a.m. Tuesday, a man strolled into the Hartford Distributors in Manchester, Conn., with a .223 caliber semiautomatic and opened fire, killing nine people and leaving several others injured. According to the New York Times, the recent Connecticut shooting spree claimed the lives of union representatives, truck drivers and a relative of the owner who worked there.

Was the Connecticut shooting influenced by racism?

The suspect in the latest Connecticut shooting spree was an employee of the Hartford Distributors, a beer and distributor business. Omar S. Thornton, 34, worked for the company as a warehouse driver. He was allegedly caught on a surveillance camera stealing beer and was asked to resign from his post as he awaited a disciplinary hearing. According to ABC News, however, those close to the alleged gunman believe the Connecticut shooting may have been sparked by racism.

Joanne Hannah, mother of Thornton’s girlfriend of eight years, said Thornton had complained about racial harassment at work, saying he “found a picture of a noose and a racial epithet written on a bathroom wall.” Thornton, a black man, had apparently brought up the issue to his supervisors, but no one responded to his complaints. “Everybody’s got a breaking point,” Hannah said.

Connecticut shooting and other cases involving disgruntled workers

The recent Connecticut shooting spree that took place at Hartford Distribution is the nation’s deadliest rampage since the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting that occurred last November, an event that also involved a disgruntled worker. A military psychiatrist entered one of the largest military bases in the United States and killed 13 people and left 30 others wounded.

On Friday Nov. 6, just 24 hours after the Fort Hood shooting, gunman Jason Rodriguez walked into the offices of Reynolds Smith & Hills in Orlando, Fla., and killed one person and wounded five others. He was a former employee of the firm, though he was fired two years prior to the incident. After being let go, Rodriguez began working at Subway and has since filed for bankruptcy. According to CNN, when asked why he committed the terrible crime, Rodriguez replied: “Because they left me to rot.”

This story is still developing as of this writing. Visit ABC News for more updates.

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