Silicon Valley is reeling today following the murder of three people at a semiconductor startup on Friday.

The shootings occurred at the Santa Clara offices of Siport, a semiconductor firm whose venture capital backers include Intel.

The three victims were chief executive Sid Argawal, vice president of operations Brian Pugh and human resources manager Marilyn Lewis.

Authorities believe that the killer was Jing Hua Wu, an engineer who had been fired by the company earlier in the day.

A few hours after his dismissal by Lewis, Wu allegedly returned to the company's Santa Clara office and called a meeting with the three executives. With all three in the room, police believe Wu then pulled out a 9mm handgun and began shooting. He was apprehended a few hours later in nearby Mountain View.

The shooting adds new grief to what has already been a rough autumn in Silicon Valley. The economic downturn has led to major layoffs at startups and established firms alike. Local firms Sun, Yahoo and Xerox have eliminated more than 10,000 jobs between them.

The Siport shootings were originally reported to have stemmed from a round of layoffs. The company later corrected those reports, saying that Wu had been " terminated", and that the firm has yet to issue any layoffs.

Wu's arraignment in Santa Clara Country Superior Court is set for Wednesday.