Ford dealership 'devastated' after employee kills 2 managers, himself in Morgan Hill

MORGAN HILL, Calif. (KTVU) - Authorities now say it was an employee at the parts counter, 60-year old Steven Leet, who opened fire inside the Ford Store in Morgan Hill, killing two managers and himself.

They say Steven Leet, 60,  had just received word that he had been fired.

Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing says, "It appears it was a spontaneous action on behalf of the suspect which unfortunately resulted in the loss of two men, and the loss of two fathers for families."

Authorities say he spent about 20 minutes in his car, before grabbing two guns and returning inside.

They say he went into his managers office, where he shot Xavier Souto point blank.

3 shot and killed at Morgan Hill Ford dealership

It was then, authorities say that Brian Light, another supervisor, intervened, trying to wrestle the guns away from Leet. But they say he was overpowered, and ultimately shot several times.

Swing says, "Brian's actions are nothing short of heroic. And those actions allowed people to flee, allowed them the precious seconds they needed to flee after hearing the first shot."

Leet eventually went into the parking lot where police say he sat down on a curb and shot himself.

Police arrived in time to hear that final gunshot. They spent all night processing the scene, Leet's house and his car.

They say he had about a dozen guns registered to him and had two in his car. Originally, they thought the shooting might have been premeditated, but they no longer do. 

Sgt. Bill Norman of Morgan Hill Police says, "We're at the point now where we think he may have just carried weapons with him all the time."

The President of the Ford Store, Tim Paulus, released a handwritten statement saying in part "We are devastated by this terrible loss."

The dealership remained closed today, allowing coworkers a chance to grieve.

"Someone from the dealership was fired... came back and apparently just shot the two managers who obviously would've fired him," said Jordan Valdez, a service worker at the dealership.

Valdez said he was standing outside the service department when the shooting happened.

"One of the service advisers had opened up the door to go back inside the shop," said Valdez. "He turned around, looked at us and he said, 'Run, there's a shooter.'"

Valdez said he took cover at a nearby mushroom farm.

"Nobody really hated each other, which is why I'm really surprised this happened," Valdez said. "I didn't see anything like this coming."

Video and photos showed police cars from several agencies swarming the dealership and employees embracing as they left the property.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the families of Xavier Souto and Brian Light.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.