Ex-Con Shot Up Lawnmower Plant With Illegally-Acquired Guns

By Bob Owens

Three people were killed and 14 were injured (10 critically) inside and near Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas yesterday before a responding police officer shot the suspect* dead.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said at a news conference that all the dead were shot inside Excel Industries, a plant in Hesston that makes lawn mower products. He said 14 were injured in the shootings, 10 critically.

A law enforcement officer killed the gunman, who worked at the plant, after he began shooting at them, Walton said.

The man traveled between sites firing from a vehicle before reaching the plant, the sheriff said.

Walton said about 150 people were likely in the plant at the time of the shooting, and that the law enforcement officer who killed the suspect “saved multiple, multiple lives.” He said the gunman had an assault weapon and a pistol.

The officer who killed the man is “a hero as far as I’m concerned,” Walton said.

“This is a fairly peaceful community and to have something like this is tragic,” he said.

The sheriff would not discuss a motive but said “there was some things that triggered this individual.”

Erin McDaniel, spokeswoman for the nearby city of Newton, said the suspect was …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms