The ex-marine who shot dead two co-workers at a New Jersey Pathmark store on Friday, had tweeted about killing his co-workers in 2009, back when he was still in the military.

Unhappy with his life as a Marine stationed in California, Terence Tyler posed a question three years ago on Twitter: 'is it normal to want to kill ALL of ur coworkers?'

Struggling with depression, he left the Marines and recently started working at a supermarket in New Jersey but on Friday morning, Tyler shot two co-workers and himself, police said.



The 23-year-old, dressed in camouflage and armed with an AK-47, opened fire in a New Jersey Pathmark store on Friday in Old Bridge Township and fatally shot two co-workers - one of which was an 18-year-old girl who in a terrible twist of fate was covering a shift for a friend.

Police said Tyler had argued with colleagues earlier that morning, left the Old Bridge store for his car, returned around 4 a.m and killed Cristina Lobrutto and Bryan Green, 24, who were stacking shelves before the scheduled 6 a.m. opening.

Employees told police they saw Tyler coming towards the entrance of the popular supermarket with his guns and locked the door - but the shooter shot out two windows, walked inside and killed his co-workers and then himself.A neighbour of Cristina was left distraught by the death.

'Why does an 18-year-old have to lose her life,' said Carolyn Anders. 'Heart of gold, always smile on her face.'


The three dead had all been working the night shift at the Old Bridge Pathmark said Middlesex County Prosectuor Bruce Kaplan at a news conference on Friday.

One law enforcement official said that Tyler entered into an argument with unspecified other co-workers and at around 3.30 a.m. left the store, got into his car and drove away.



Kaplan said that approximately twenty minutes later he returned dressed in camouflage clothing and armed with an AK-47 and an automatic handgun and shot out two windows after staff locked the door to stop him entering when they saw him approach.

Entering into the store, Tyler reportedly shot at a group of five people standing in an aisle and hit and killed Lobrutto and Breen. 'We don't know what triggered it,' said Tyler's uncle, Christopher Dyson to NBC.



Heavily armed S.W.A.T. police swarmed to the Pathmark at around 4.30 a.m. but did not engage Tyler as he had already taken his own life by the time they arrived.

Tyler, 23, left the U.S. Marines Corp in 2010 and a military spokesman said that he held the rank of lance corporal and was a rifleman. Before moving to New Jersey, Tyler lived in Brooklyn, but during his time in the Marine he was stationed in Palms, California.

Despite never serving overseas he received two medals, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a National Defence Service Medal.

On his Facebook page, the ex-Marine posted the chilling words, 'Be Optimistic - All the people you hate are going to eventually die.'

Listed as graduating in 2007 from George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn, his Facebook page declares his interests to be 'sports and hitting the gym'.
Masase Acheampong, 25, a friend of the gunman said that he was shocked by the shootings and that he was 'a normal kid'.

'That's why I am shocked, I would never have guessed it in a million years.'

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