“A hero as far as I’m concerned”, Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said of the officer. He initially said that seven people were dead and about 30 people were injured.
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“There were some things that triggered this particular individual”, he said.
A law enforcement officer killed the gunman, who worked at the plant, after he began shooting at them, Walton said.
He said the gunman was shot by police who rushed to the scene. Coworkers have identified the felled suspect.
Eleven of the people wounded in Thursday’s attack were taken to two Wichita hospitals, where one was in critical condition, five were in serious condition, and five were in fair condition Friday morning, hospital officials said.
The Kansas attacker, who was armed with a.223-caliber assault-style rifle and a pistol, fired out of his vehicle as he drove through two cities, Walton said.
City spokeswoman Erin McDaniel said police heard loud music blaring from the home but no-one answered the door. Four people were hospitalized an Newton Medical Center, which was locked down due to police activity. He says the man shot 15 others in the lawnmower parts factory, killing three of them, before a Hesston police officer shot him dead. The Harvey County Sheriff’s Department initially said authorities believed the suspect’s roommate could be inside.
Excel Industries manufactures products for turf care, according to local media.
When staff were informed by law enforcement that the situation was secured, the lock-down was lifted; and employees and students were allowed to go home.
Four people were killed and 14 more were hurt following a deadly shooting rampage in Kansas.
“Everybody says it can’t happen here”, Walton said.
Minutes later, authorities received multiple reports of shots fired at Excel Industries, where an estimated 150 people were working at the time, according to Walton.
The shooter killed three or four people, and wounded as many as 20 others before he was killed by authorities, the sheriff said.
The gunman pointed his gun at Mr Espinoza and pulled the trigger, but the weapon was empty. He says at that point, the shooter got a different gun and Martin took off running.
“This is just a terrible incident”, the sheriff said. Finally, an active shooter was reported inside the workplace, Walton said. The FBI; the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Kansas Bureau of Investigation; state highway patrol; Harvey County sheriff’s office; Hesston and Newton police are all investigating, Walton said. “There are so many crime scenes and so many people”. It was an officer who shot and killed the suspect down.
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Excel worker Martin
Espinoza said he heard people yelling to others to get out, then heard popping, then saw the shooter, a co-worker he described as typically pretty calm. “He was coming at everybody”, said the employee.
