Nasa gunman feared sack for poor performance

The man who shot dead a fellow Nasa worker before turning the gun on himself was undergoing a job review for poor performance and feared being sacked.

William Phillips, 60, smuggled a snub-nosed revolver into the Johnson Space Centre in Houston^ Texas, on Friday and barricaded himself in a building that houses communications and tracking systems for the space shuttle.

In addition to killing a man before taking his own life, he duct-taped a woman to a chair, holding her for hours. She escaped with minor injuries.

Houston police chief Harold Hurtt said Phillips bought a gun last month, days after receiving an email informing him that his job performance was going to be reviewed.

Nasa said his victim was David Beverly, a 62-year-old Nasa worker. Officials said Phillips confronted Beverly about his performance review and after Beverly tried to calm him down, Phillips shot him twice.

He later returned and shot Beverly twice more, officials said.

The female hostage, identified as Fran Crenshaw, a contract worker with MRI Technologies, worked in the same general area. She was described by officials as a calming influence who helped keep the situation from getting worse.

Space agency spokesman John Ira Petty said Nasa was conducting what he called a continuous review of security procedures. Petty would not discuss specifics, saying the apparent murder-suicide was a police matter.

To enter the space centre, workers must show an ID badge as they drive past a security guard. The badge allows workers access to designated buildings.

Beverly’s wife Linda said her husband of 41 years was an electrical parts specialist who felt working at Nasa was his calling.

Phillips, an employee of Jacobs Engineering of Pasadena, California, had worked for Nasa for 15 years. He was unmarried, had no children and apparently lived alone.

During the confrontation, Nasa employees in the building were evacuated and others were ordered to remain in their offices for several hours.

Roads within the 1,600-acre space centre campus were also blocked off, and a nearby middle school kept its teachers and students inside as classes ended. Doors to Mission Control were locked as standard procedure.

President Bush was informed about the gunman as he flew back to Washington from an event in Michigan, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.