HARRISONBURG, Va.--An American HomePatient employee shot two co-workers to death Tuesday morning before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.

The gunman, Brewer Hoover Jr., 65, of Harrisonburg, and victims Gary Gibson, 54, of Harrisonburg, and Bonnie Crump, 54, of Grottoes, were transported to a nearby hospital and later pronounced dead, police said.

According to authorities, Hoover took a .38-caliber revolver and a .40-caliber semi-automatic weapon to the American HomePatient retail store where he worked at about 8 a.m. Tuesday, barricaded himself in the HME and started shooting.

An hour later, 26 officers surrounded the store, located in the Town Center strip mall, and a negotiation team began talking to Hoover over the phone. But after he cut off communications, a SWAT team closed in, and Hoover shot himself in the head, police said.

The shootings were work-related, authorities said, and an investigation is continuing. According to local news reports, Hoover had worked at the branch office, one of nine American HomePatient locations in Virginia, for 11 years.

"When he was talking to our negotiators, what he said was he was upset and he was afraid he was going to be fired," said Lt. Kurt Boshart, a spokesman for the Harrisonburg Police Department.

Three other employees escaped unharmed before police arrived.

"Our primary concern is for our Harrisonburg employees and their families during this difficult time," said Joseph F. Furlong, CEO of the Brentwood, Tenn.-based provider, in a statement issued after the incident. "I would like to express my deepest sympathy for the families affected by this tragedy."