Tech Worker Charged in 7 Deaths at Mass. Firm

A software tester for a Boston-area Internet consulting firm was indicted Thursday for allegedly killing seven colleagues during the Dec. 26 shooting rampage at Edgewater Technology Inc. Michael McDermott, 42, a 300-pound man with a bushy beard, was charged with seven counts of murder and five counts of carrying illegal weapons, according to the Middlesex County grand jury indictment in Cambridge, Mass.

Prosecutors accuse McDermott of acting with premeditation and without mercy when colleagues were shot repeatedly with a 12-gauge shotgun and an assault rifle fed with a 60-round magazine.

The seven Edgewater Technology employees were shot a combined 30 times at close range, suffering wounds to the head, torso and legs, prosecutors said.

On Christmas night, McDermott allegedly stowed a shotgun, assault rifle, .32-caliber handgun, bolt-action rifle and boxes of ammunition at his work station, according to authorities.

He is accused of opening fire the next morning after exchanging pleasantries with co-workers about the holiday, police said.

After the shooting rampage, police found 49 spent shell casings from an assault rifle and six from a shotgun at the Wakefield, Mass., firm.

At his Dec. 27 arraignment at Malden District Court, McDermott pleaded not guilty and was ordered to jail without bail.

Minutes before the shooting, co-workers said McDermott, who faced having his wages attached by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, received a call from a creditor who wanted to repossess his car. McDermott reportedly told the creditor to come and pick it up.