A gunman shot and killed three people near Hesston, Kan., on Thursday and wounded 14 others before being shot dead by a police officer, authorities said.
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A 28-year-old woman from Newton was charged on Friday with illegally transferring two guns to Ford, said U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom of Kansas in a statement.
An affidavit filed in the case alleges Hopkins knew of Ford’s criminal history – or had reason to think he had one – including his felony convictions, which barred him from possessing firearms.
When Sloan heard a co-worker ask Ford what he meant by “Nobody cares”, she said, Ford just walked away.
Hesston Mayor David Kauffman said law enforcement converged from around the area.
Authorities say Ford later died in a gun battle when a police officer shot him despite taking fire.
A Kansas woman was charged Friday with giving guns to the felon who shot up a Kansas plant, federal prosecutors said. A few minutes later, Ford returned in a different auto, he said. The shooting began with Ford firing out of his vehicle and wounding two people as he drove through two cities back to the factory, authorities said.
He said the man shot 15 others in the lawnmower parts factory, killing three of them, before a Hesston police officer shot him dead.
Authorities believe a restraining order served to Cedric Ford 90 minutes before he opened fire at a Hesston plant was what led to the shooting.
Some of the shooter’s motives had emerged, but the sheriff declined to provide more details except to say the attack was “not terrorism”.
The sheriff said it’s possible the court order incited the workplace carnage. “A lot of photographs need to be taken, things need to be documented, that’s a normal crime scene investigation”, Walton said.
“At Excel, we are like a family”, Lett said.
A man driving with his two children was shot in the shoulder.
Another Excel employee, identified as Dylan by KSNW, rubbed blood from his hands – which came from helping a man who’d been shot – as he recalled the chaotic, horrific scene.
“He was just a normal guy to me”, Jarrell told CNN.
“In my mind this officer saved a whole lot of lives because this shooter this shooter wasn’t done”, Walton said.
In a petition for the protection order, Ford’s former girlfriend wrote that on February 5 he “became physical by him pushing me then grabbing me”. “I saw the shell casings come out of the assault rifle”, Jarrell said.
“I’ve never experienced that before”, he said as he choked up.
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A man whose son was wounded in an attack at a Kansas factory says his son told him that when the shooting started, people were yelling “gas fire, gas fire”. She saw what seemed to be a peaceful exchange between Ford and a supervisor about the demotion.
