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| Gunman kills three in Kansas workplace shooting, before being shot dead | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A gunman killed three people in a workplace shooting in Hesston, Kansas on Thursday afternoon, before being shot dead by an officer, the local sherrif said. | |
| The shooting rampage, which also left 14 people injured, happened at multiple locations, including Excel Industries, a manufacturer of turf care products in Harvey County, 35 miles north of Wichita, Sheriff T Walton told reporters at early evening news conferences. | |
| Walton said the shooter was an employee of Excel but declined to identify him or say how long he had worked for the company. | Walton said the shooter was an employee of Excel but declined to identify him or say how long he had worked for the company. |
| “Gunfire was exchanged ... and law enforcement shot and killed the shooter,” Walton said. “The shooter was actively firing at any target ... This is a horrible situation – just terrible, terrible.” | |
| The officer who killed the gunman “saved a whole lot of lives,” he added. | |
| Walton said there may be as many as “five crime scenes”, noting that one person was shot while driving, another was shot in a parking lot and that police eventually responded to an “active shooter” situation inside Excel Industries. | Walton said there may be as many as “five crime scenes”, noting that one person was shot while driving, another was shot in a parking lot and that police eventually responded to an “active shooter” situation inside Excel Industries. |
| “There’s so many crime scenes and so many people,” Walton said, adding: “I understand how hard it is for everybody ... I don’t have a lot of answers ... There are a lot of shot victims.” | “There’s so many crime scenes and so many people,” Walton said, adding: “I understand how hard it is for everybody ... I don’t have a lot of answers ... There are a lot of shot victims.” |
| “Right now, it all looks random ... He’s just shooting at people driving their car.” | |
| Walton said it appeared that the gunman was armed with an assault rifle and that once he was inside the Excel Industries building he shot 15 people, including the three victims who died. | |
| Paul Mullet, president and CEO of Excel, told reporters late Thursday that the gunman was a current employee, but declined to offer further details. “We’re really saddened by this horrific event. Our heart goes out to all of our employees and all of the families whose loved ones got injured and killed.” | |
| Friends and relatives of employees were gathering near the shooting early Thursday evening. | |
| “We’re waiting until I can see my daughter come out,” one woman told local news station KSN live just after 6pm local time. “We couldn’t understand her a whole lot. She was like, ‘Mom, I need you here. There’s been a shooting.” | “We’re waiting until I can see my daughter come out,” one woman told local news station KSN live just after 6pm local time. “We couldn’t understand her a whole lot. She was like, ‘Mom, I need you here. There’s been a shooting.” |
| The nearby Hesston College campus was on lockdown early Thursday evening with a note on its website saying: “Lockdown will continue until shooter is in custody.” | The nearby Hesston College campus was on lockdown early Thursday evening with a note on its website saying: “Lockdown will continue until shooter is in custody.” |
| Hesston is a small town of about 3,700 residents. Excel was founded in 1960 and is a third-generation family-owned business, according to the Kansas City Star. | |
| Ron Johnson, who said he works in the weld shop at the plant, told local news station KAKE during a live interview that he was in the building when he started hearing shots. “I thought I was hearing explosions. I see a mob of people just running out, and then ‘pop, pop, pop, pop, pop’.” | Ron Johnson, who said he works in the weld shop at the plant, told local news station KAKE during a live interview that he was in the building when he started hearing shots. “I thought I was hearing explosions. I see a mob of people just running out, and then ‘pop, pop, pop, pop, pop’.” |
| Johnson continued: “A guy that I work side by side with got one through the arm,” noting that he saw eight or nine people with injuries. “In a little town like Hesston, who would’ve ever guessed? I’m thankful to be alive.” | Johnson continued: “A guy that I work side by side with got one through the arm,” noting that he saw eight or nine people with injuries. “In a little town like Hesston, who would’ve ever guessed? I’m thankful to be alive.” |
| Walton told reporters that the sheriff’s office just recently had a meeting about how to respond to an active shooter situation. “Everybody thinks it can’t happen here, but it’s in those places that it can’t happen that it happens ... You’ve got to wake up, because it can happen.” | Walton told reporters that the sheriff’s office just recently had a meeting about how to respond to an active shooter situation. “Everybody thinks it can’t happen here, but it’s in those places that it can’t happen that it happens ... You’ve got to wake up, because it can happen.” |