A warehouse driver became violent when asked to resign from his job. He was working at a beer distributor, refused to be let go and then opened fire Tuesday morning. Police said the gunman and several other people were killed and others were wounded, one critically.

The authorities are still searching the building to make sure everyone is accounted for before confirming the number of deaths, state police Lt. J. Paul Vance said.

Michaela Donnelly, spokeswoman said that at least one person has died at Hartford Hospital and another victim taken there was in critical condition and another in fair condition.

There were about 50 to 70 people in the warehouse at the time of the shooting. Adding to the chaos was a fire at the warehouse, which is about 10 miles east of Hartford that has been put out.

The gunman was a driver who had worked at the distributor for a couple of years and been called in for a disciplinary hearing, said John Hollis of the Connecticut Teamsters, who was with company officials at the scene of the shooting.

Police and fire vehicles, from numerous agencies, surrounded the warehouse on a tree-lined road in an industrial park just west of a shopping mall. A SWAT team with a police dog was walking around the property a couple of hours after the 7 a.m. shooting.