At least nine dead in US shooting

At least nine people are reportedly dead following a workplace shooting at a family-owned beer and wine wholesaler in Connecticut.

Sources claim Omar Thornton, 34, shot a number of people and then shot himself with a .223 calibre semiautomatic rifle.

He was a driver for the company and was described as a recent hire and a "disciplinary problem."

John Hollis, a Teamsters Union official said: "The union was bringing him in to meet with the company to remedy the problem ... He started shooting."

Hollis declined to describe the nature of the disciplinary problem, and he said he wasn't certain if the meeting had taken place when the shooting started.