Three dead in series of shootings in Kansas
Up to 30 wounded; suspect also killed
Three people have died in a series of shootings at three sites near Hesston, Kan., including at a lawn care products factory, authorities said Thursday night.
The alleged shooter, an employee of Excel Industries in Hesston, also died after a confrontation with law enforcement at the Excel plant, Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said.
Up to 30 people were hurt, Walton said during a news conference Thursday. And seven of them were hurt critically, according to various reports. The shooter was armed with a long gun and a handgun, the sheriff said. Police received the first call shortly befor 5 p.m. and the shooter was dead by 5:23 p.m., he said.
The company employs 1,000 people and about 150 of them were on the job at the time, Walton said.
He said he did not know whether the shooter had been fired from Excel.
There are about four or five crime scenes in Newton, Harvey County, and Excel in Hesston, Walton said.
Marty Pierce told the news organization he heard his Excel coworkers yelling “fire” and that he narrowly missed being hit.
“They were saying, ‘Fire, fire,’ ” Pierce said. “We didn’t know they were getting shot.”
“This is just a horrible incident that’s happened here ... please bear with us as we try to get through this,” Walton said. “There’s going to be a lot of sad people before this is all over.”
Hesston is about 36 miles northwest of Wichita.