Emcore employees return to work

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Thursday was the first day back for Emcore employees since Monday's violent shooting when four people were wounded, two people killed before the gunman killed himself.

Some workers greeted each other with hugs, others brought flowers to the makeshift memorial, and the company is letting them ease back into an emotional environment.

The company is providing assistance for those coming back to work and saying if some still aren't comfortable coming in, they can remain at home a while longer.

Emcore released a statement on Thursday saying it would hold a companywide meeting to address employees concerns and allow them to reconnect to each other for the first time since Monday.

Police said that's when Robert Reza went on a shooting rampage at the Emcore facility. The intended target of the shooting was Reza's ex-girlfriend Adrienne Basciano who worked at the fiber optics and solar plant.

Plant and employees will try and work together to return work life back to normal.

"These are really good dedicated employees," said Gerges Scott, Emcore representative. "Many of them understand that the best therapy is to just get back into working and into that environment."

One of the victims wounded in Monday's shooting, whose name is not being published to protect his or her privacy, returned to work with others Thursday.

Also on Thursday Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., spoke from the floor of the U. S. House to recognize Emcore Corp. employees and the police response to the shooting.

"This kind of tragedy is every community's nightmare, but this tragedy must also recommit all of us to confronting and preventing the serious problem of domestic violence to insure a tragedy like this never happens again," Heinrich said. "We are grateful for the heroic actions of the many Emcore employees as well as Albuquerque's police and first responders who arrived on scene within minutes of the first call and some of whom rushed into the active-shooter scene without waiting for backup."

"We hold the victims in our hearts. We pray for all touched by this, and we will find the strength as a community to come together and overcome."