The man accused of opening fire at a Kansas business and two other locations, killing three people and wounding 14, has been identified as Cedric Larry Ford, 38, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.
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Prosecutors announced Friday that 28-year-old Sarah T. Hopkins was charged with one count of knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon. Schroeder shot and killed Ford, who was armed with an AK-47 style assault rifle and a.40-caliber handgun, authorities said. He then stole one victim’s vehicle and drove to Excel Industries, where he worked, and shot someone in the parking lot.
Walton said his office served Ford with a protection-from-abuse order at around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, about 90 minutes before the first shooting happened. Mullet added that his company is fully cooperating with law enforcement agencies and the Red Cross.
“They said he was upset (upon receiving the order), but nothing greater than anybody else who gets served a PFA”, Walton said, citing witnesses. Police killed the suspect when he began firing on officers.
There were around 200 to 300 people at the facility when the shooting occurred.
Speaking by phone to Hesston Mayor David Kauffman on Friday, President Obama “offered his condolences to the loved ones of those who were lost and his gratitude to police officer and other first responders who acted quickly to save lives”, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.
Employees like Gray and Rankin found their way outside the plant Thursday evening and huddled in groups, some praying for the people still inside, some talking about who had been shot, some hoping that the shooter would not come out of their side of the building, and waited.
According to media reports, Ford had recently moved to the area from Miami, and had an extensive criminal record, including a history of prowling, loitering and illegal weapons possession. Ford posted photos of both weapons on Facebook.
At a Wichita hospital, the son of Dennis Britton Sr.is recovering from a gunshot wound that went through his lower buttock and fractured a femur bone.
Police identified the victims as Renee Benjamin, 30; Joshua Higbee, 31; and Brian Sadowsky, 44 – all Excel employees, according to the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office.
The Excel Industries factory has always been an economic hub for the peaceful community of 3,700. Hopkins told officers on Friday that she gave the weapons to Ford in August because he had threatened her.
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“We heard a pop, pop, and we thought it was just metal falling on the ground, and then the doors opened, people started screaming, coming out”, he said. He says the man shot 15 others in the lawnmower parts factory, killing three of them, before a Hesston police officer shot him dead. He says Ford arrived as scheduled on Thursday but later disappeared and wasn’t there to relieve him so that he could take a break. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive in those attacks. Jarrell says he sped away when he saw Ford shoot someone and then enter the building. Online records show he was released from the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections in February 2007, AP said.
