The sixth victim of a workplace shooting rampage at a Minneapolis sign company in late September has died, police and the family said Thursday.

Eric Rivers, 42, a production manager at Accent Signage Systems “passed away peacefully last night,” his family said in a statement released by the Hennepin County Medical Center, NBC station KARE of Minneapolis reported.

Rivers’ family made the decision to take him off of life support Wednesday night after he had been in critical condition since the Sept. 27 shooting.

On a personal webpage, Rivers’ wife wrote Wednesday that “it’s painfully evident that the damage to his brain is severe and something that no one can recover from.”

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Bloomington, Minn., police

Booking photo of Andrew Engeldinger in 1997.

The death brings the total number of those killed in last month’s shooting to seven, including the suspected gunman, identified as Andrew J. Engeldinger, 36, an employee who had just lost his job.

No victims remain in the hospital. In all, Engeldinger shot seven people, including the company’s founder.

In the statement, Rivers’ family said, “We are grateful for the incredible courage displayed by the men and women who responded to the emergency and the wonderful medical team at Hennepin County Medical Center, who have been caring for Eric. At this time, the family asks for privacy as they deal with this tragedy. We thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.”

The day of the shooting, Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said Engeldinger was brought into the front office at the end of the work day to be terminated, and then he took out a 9mm Glock semiautomatic pistol and began shooting other employees. Engeldinger then walked to the loading dock, killing others. He was later found dead in the basement of Accent Signage Systems.

Amy Forliti / AP

Police investigate a shooting at Accent Signage Systems on the north side of Minneapolis Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012.

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Following the incident, Engeldinger's parents released a statement saying that Andrew struggled with mental illness for years and had lost contact with the family. "This is not an excuse for his actions, but sadly, may be a partial explanation," said the statement read by Carolyn and Chuck Engeldinger. They also expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wounded.

Minneapolis police said they plan to release 911 audio from the shooting in the coming weeks. 

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Bloomington Minn. police

Booking photo of Andrew Engeldinger in 1997.

The fifth victim of Thursday's shooting rampage at a Minneapolis sign company has died, police said Friday. 

The death brings the total number of those killed in the attack to six, including the suspected gunman, identified Friday as Andrew J. Engeldinger, 36, an employee who had just lost his job.

Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said Engeldinger was brought into the front office at the end of the work day to be terminated, and then he took out a 9mm Glock semiautomatic pistol and began shooting, the StarTribune reported. Engeldinger then walked to the loading dock, killing others.

Dolan said that earlier reports that Engeldinger had been terminated earlier in the day, and then returned to the office for the shooting were incorrect.

Asked if Engeldinger chose his victims, the chief said: "It's clear he did walk by some people, he did walk by people to get to certain other members of the business."

Dolan said Engeldinger was found dead in the basement of Accent Signage Systems with the semiautomatic weapon and a single bullet casing, NBC station KARE of Minneapolis reported.

Among the five victims was Reuven Rahamim, the founder of the company, and UPS driver Keith Basinski, 50, who apparently had been on a delivery when the shooting started. 

Other victims were identified Friday by the Hennepin County Medical Examiners office as Rami Cooks, 62; Ronald Edberg, 58; and Jacob Beneke, 34, the Tribune reported.

Three men were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in critical condition after the shooting, which was reported at 4:35 p.m. CDT (5.35 p.m. EDT) Thursday. News that one of these victims had died came late Friday afternoon.

Accent Signage is the only manufacturing business located among the mix of single-family homes and parks in that tree-lined section of the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis.

"In a great neighborhood and a great business; we have a horrible tragedy," Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said Thursday night.

Accent Signage is known for a process of making interior signs with durable Braille text lettering. It was founded by Rahamim, an Israeli immigrant, from his basement. It grew to have 28 employees and an expected revenue of $5 million to $10 million this year, according to the publication Finance & Commerce.

"Reuven was so proud of everything that he and his family have built in this country, and he had a right to be," Rybak said Friday in a Facebook posting. 

Dolan said police found packaging for 10,000 rounds of ammunition during a search of Engeldinger's home.

Barry Lawrence, a former employee who told the Tribune that he had trained Engeldinger as an engraver in 1998 or 1999, described him as "real intelligent, caught on fast."

"He seemed conscientious," said Lawrence. "He was conscious about saving money. He was always worried about his 401K plan. When the stock market went down, he was concerned about losing money. I said, 'Just forget about it, Andy, don't even look at if it upsets you.'"

Engeldinger's parents on Friday released a statement saying that Andrew struggled with mental illness for years and had lost contact with the family, KARE reported. "This is not an excuse for his actions, but sadly, may be a partial explanation," said the statement read by Carolyn and Chuck Engeldinger. They also expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wounded.

This followed an July mass shooting in a crowded cinema in Colorado and an attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in August, which rekindled debate about gun control in the United States.

Nationally, there were 458 workplace homicides in 2011 and 518 in 2010, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

NBC News' Kari Huus, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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