Workplace shooting victim's family says they found out about death during press conference

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The family of one of the five people killed in a workplace shooting Monday said they want the world to know what kind of man their loved one was.

Kevin Lawson's life was cut short when John Neumann Jr., 45, fatally shot Lawson, four other people and himself at Fiamma Inc., a manufacturer of recreational vehicle awnings on Forsyth Road near Hanging Moss Road.

“He was, like, one of the best friends anyone could ever have,” said Lawson’s friend, Mark Lee. “And I don’t have him anymore. And his family doesn’t have him anymore. It’s just wrong. It’s so wrong.”

As soon as Lawson’s family heard about the shooting, they went to Full Sail University, which the Sheriff’s Office had designated as a family reunification center.

“We had to listen to all the other families screaming while we were just waiting,” said Lawson’s daughter, Crystal Brown.

That waiting went on for hours before the Sheriff’s Office's held a news conferance at 2 p.m. news conference. The family said that's when they said they heard the news.

Watch: 2 p.m. news conference from Monday

“They called every family back but ours. Then we found out by the media that my dad was one of the dead ones,” Brown said. “They gave us false hope thinking that he might be OK.”

Lawson said it’s also how he found out.

“It’s just not right to find out on the news that your best friend got murdered,” said Lee.

The Sheriff’s Office said two deputies knew about the positive identification and as one deputy went to tell the sheriff, another went to tell the family.

The sheriff got the name first and announced it to the public.

“It was bad. Nobody could talk. People could barely walk,” said Brown. “Chairs were being thrown. It was bad. And all Sheriff Demings said was he was sorry.”

The Sheriff's Office said it had a private conversation with the family after the news conference.

Cox Media Group