Police: Disgruntled Employee Shoots Co-Worker At Florida Doctor's Office, Then Kills Self

Friday, June 8th 2007, 4:08 pm

By: News On 6

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) _ A doctor's office employee who thought she was going to be fired fatally shot the office manager Friday morning, then went home and killed herself, authorities said.

The shooter, Jacquelyn Ann Ferguson, 51, was found dead at her Bradenton home about three hours after fleeing the office in nearby Sarasota, said Sarasota County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Chuck Lesaltato.

The slain woman was identified as Denise Keyworth, 45, of Sarasota.

``The suspect believed she was going to be terminated today and showed up with a gun and shot the victim,'' Lesaltato said.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported on its Web site that one of its reporters found Ferguson's body. She had an apparent head wound and a revolver in her lap, the newspaper reported.

Deputies were watching the house when the reporter walked up to the front door, Lesaltato said. They confronted the journalist, who told them he had looked in a window and seen Ferguson dead on the back patio, Lesaltato said.

Twelve other employees were in the offices of cardiologist Dr. Jeffrey Sack at the time of the shooting, and they walked out of the building with their hands in the air, Lesaltato said. Deputies stormed the building but found that Ferguson had fled.

Sarasota is about 45 miles south of Tampa.