Information for this article was contributed by P. Solomon Banda, John Hanna and Heather Hollingsworth of The Associated Press. A short time later, he shot someone else in the leg at an intersection, authorities said.
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Undated mug shot of Cedric Ford provided by the Harvey County Sheriff. In 2005, Ford was arrested for domestic violence in Florida and charged with battery, although prosecutors later dropped the case. In 2008, he was convicted in a misdemeanor brawling case in Kansas, the Wichita Eagle reported.
Federal law bars felons from possessing firearms.
An affidavit says the Newton woman gave Ford a Zastava Serbia, which is an AK-47-type semi-automatic rifle, and a Glock Model 22 40-caliber handgun.
A phone call to a number listed for her was not answered. She was the mother of his children; the couple appeared to have an on-again, off-again relationship, according to court records.
Local media identified Ford as a factory painter who had posted a picture of himself on Facebook with an assault rifle. A police officer killed Ford during an exchange of gunfire.
Edna Decker was one of 38-year-old Cedric Ford’s first targets. He was still given a “stay away” order to protect the woman, however, who he allegedly grabbed by the neck and punched in the head, according to BuzzFeed News.
Three people died in the shooting, more than a dozen were injured. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive in those attacks.
Walton said the suspect was driving and shooting from his auto before he was killed by the authorities inside his company, Excel Industries. The protection order against him was filed in Wichita, but Walton did not detail why or who filed it, beyond that the filer wasn’t working at Excel. She described Ford as an alcoholic who was violent and depressed, according to CNN.
In 2000, Ford was found guilty of burglary, grand theft, and fleeing police.
Some employees recognized the suspect as a co-worker.
The sheriff of Harvey County says the police officer who shot and killed Ford who was attacking the factory where he worked is a “tremendous hero”.
At Excel he shot one person in the parking lot near the northeast section of the building, and then entered the doors. “He was seen entering the building with an assault-style long gun”.
“The shooter then goes into the building, and at that point shoots 14 more people”. They used to take smoke breaks together, he said, and Ford recently told co-workers that he had just purchased a new truck as well as a new stereo system for his vehicle.
Walton said police surrounded the gunman’s home after the shooting but his male roommate refused to allow them in, resulting in a standoff. “I mean, that vivid, I can still see it”, said Jarrell.
While authorities responded at these sites – having no idea where the shooter was heading next – Ford went to Excel, the lawn care equipment manufacturer where he was employed.
Rankin moved to Hesston six months ago, he said, because he was trying to escape a group of people that made it too easy for him to make bad choices.
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Authorities identified the dead as 44-year-old Brian Sadowsky of Newton; 31-year-old Josh Higbee of Buhler; and 30-year-old Renee Benjamin, whose hometown wasn’t immediately available.
