Emcore employees back at work

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Three days after police said a man went on a shooting rampage at an Albuquerque business, Emcore employees returned to work; one employee said it felt like reliving that horrific day.

Employees said through the tears and hugs were questions of why; why did this have to happen to their friends and co-workers?

Danielle Diaz said reminders of that day continue to grow inside and outside of the buildings.

The memorial that sits on the sidewalk in front of the parking lot is getting larger. Diaz said there are smaller memorials sprouting on the desks of Sharon Cunningham and Michele Turner, the two women who died.

“There are candles, flowers, cards,” Diaz said.

The memorials continue around the building as flowers trace the shooters path.

Two small bouquets brighten the sidewalk where police said Robert Reza shot Cunningham. Diaz said there are more flowers around the picnic table where Turner and Reza's ex-girlfriend Adrienne Basciano were gunned down.

Police said Basciano was the target. She survived.

Hospital officials said Basciano returned to critical condition on Thursday as her co-workers returned to the building where the shooting happened.

Diaz was among hundreds of co-workers who made their way back to work. She said she did not know what to expect or how she would feel.

“It was hard, it was really hard. I woke up this morning knowing I had to come for this meeting,” Diaz said. “Everyone's crying, trying to make light of the situation.”

“You felt so hopeless,” Diaz said. “So when you pass by there you feel those feelings again.”

Police said after Reza shot the three women he made his way inside and fired several more rounds, shooting three more people.  Police reported more than 20 shots fired as Reza reloaded his .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.

Diaz was in the cafeteria. She said she heard every shot fired and even saw the shooter.

“He was running down the stairs shooting,” Diaz said.

Diaz said when she and some co-workers looked out the cafeteria door she saw the gun. She then saw Reza's eyes and he saw her.

Diaz said that image still haunts her. Thursday morning, she faced one of her fears and walked back into the building and into the cafeteria, where she narrowly escaped death.

“When you walk in there, you don't want to sit by windows, you don't want to sit in the same spot that you were at,” Diaz said.

Police said Reza looked into the cafeteria, where some of his old co-workers were hiding but didn’t shoot anyone. Diaz said she had already run outside.

Police said Reza fired off 21 shots during his rampage and still had more ammo when he turned the gun on himself as police arrived.