Ex-girlfriend of gunman in deadly Fla. Wendy's shooting says she wasn't the reason for attack

A former girlfriend of the man who waged a deadly shooting attack inside a Wendy's restaurant disputed assertions by authorities that he likely chose the spot because the couple often argued there.

"The motive wasn't me," Mary Giannico said Wednesday. "We never had a fight there. I don't think we ever even ate at that Wendy's together."

Alburn Edward Blake, 60, entered the Wendy's in suburban West Palm Beach during the lunch rush on March 3 and killed a paramedic, then wounded four other customers before killing himself.

A friend of Blake who sold him the gun told detectives that Blake had "negative feelings" toward the restaurant and often called it a "crazy place" because he and Giannico frequently argued there, said Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman Paul Miller. He said the friend also indicated Blake "still had strong feelings" for Giannico.

"He didn't just randomly pick that place," Miller said.

Giannico maintained they "never went inside that Wendy's together." However, she said Blake often picked up food from the Wendy's while she was pregnant.

Detectives still have not determined the motive for the attack and are still awaiting toxicology test results from Blake's autopsy.

Authorities believe Blake may have developed an illness in January. Friends said he was losing weight and stopped going to his landscaping jobs.

"We may really never know what was going on his mind," Miller said.

Blake and Giannico had a turbulent relationship, and lived just a few blocks from the Wendy's. Records show that while Blake had no criminal convictions, Giannico accused him in 2006 of kicking her in the knee and back in front of their baby, who now is 2 1/2.

Giannico called Blake an "abusive and demented" man. She said she had seen him only once in the last two years, at a child support hearing. He made his last $674 child support payment to her just two weeks before the shootings.