HONOLULU, Hawaii (Reuters) - Police Wednesday sought a motive for why a ``nice, quiet'' Xerox repairman who collected rare goldfish allegedly killed seven co-workers in the worst mass shooting in Hawaii history.

But Xerox, in a statement, removed one possible motive -- the company denied reports it had planned to fire 40-year-old Byran Uyesugi after 15 years of service.

Police said Uyesugi shot dead five men in a conference room at Xerox's Honolulu warehouse and then killed two others in a nearby work space.

A day after the Hawaii shooting, a gunman in camouflage gear walked into a Seattle shipyard and opened fire with a pistol, killing at least one person and wounding three.

The father of the suspect in the Hawaii shootings said he wanted to give his son another gun and tell him to kill himself. ``I am going to bring him another gun so he can shoot himself. I will tell him to shoot himself,'' Hiroyuki Uyesugi, a retired postal worker, told reporters.

The elder Uyesugi reportedly told a neighbor that his son was worried about getting laid off from his job, but his brother Dennis said he was not upset about anything.

In its statement, Xerox said, ``Contrary to media reports, Xerox had no intention of laying off Mr. Uyesugi. Uyesugi had been with the company for 15 years and was a senior customer service engineer.''

Xerox spokeswoman Sandy Mauceli said the company could not cast light on a motive, saying ``This is a police matter.''

The gunman fled the scene of the shooting, at the Xerox Parts Distribution Center a few miles from downtown Honolulu, in a green company van and held police at bay for five hours before surrendering Tuesday afternoon.

Xerox said the building, a 33,128 sq. ft. (3,070 sq. meter), two-story warehouse, normally has only four workers on duty but more were present Tuesday to attend a meeting.

Uyesugi was due to be arraigned on multiple murder charges later Wednesday. Hawaii does not have the death penalty but he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Uyesugi's life, according to friends and relatives, was something of a paradox. On the one hand he was known to friends as a ``nice, quiet'' man who kept to himself, breeding rare goldfish and doing woodwork as a hobby.

But his father said his son had two weeks of anger management counseling after he lost his temper and kicked an elevator door at work.

Vernon Wong, who has known Uyesugi for about three years because both were members of the Hawaii Goldfish and Carp Association, a fish enthusiasts club, said he was ``shocked'' to learn of the shooting.

``Frankly, he's a nice quiet person, somewhat a loner but that's not a bad thing,'' Wong said. ``He's a quiet person, but I don't think anyone considers him offensive or touchy.''

Deputy police chief Michael Carvalho said, ``This is the most most tragic situation ever in the city of Honolulu. We do not know why it happened. We are looking for a motive.''

City prosecutor Peter Carlisle said, ``Nobody in Hawaii has seen this type of incident before. It almost takes your breath away. It is like getting kicked in the stomach. A lot of very good people lost their lives for no reason in a savage and brutal way.''

Xerox chief executive Rick Thoman arrived in Honolulu Wednesday to speak to employees and to offer his condolences to the families of the seven murdered workers.

The company named the victims as Jason Balatico, Ford Kanehira, Ronald Kataoka, Ronald Kawamae, Melvin Lee, Peter Mark, and John Sakamoto. All were senior customer service engineers except Melvin Lee, who was field service manager.

Xerox said it employs about 150 people in Honolulu. Xerox offices in the city were closed for business Wednesday, but were open to employees to receive grief counseling.