A painter armed with a high-powered assault rifle opened fire at a lawn mower manufacturing plant in Kansas, killing 4 and wounding 14 on Thursday. Five of the victims are in critical condition at local hospitals.
Plant employee Cedric Ford, 38, clocked in to begin his shift in the paint room at Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas on Thursday morning.
About 90 minutes before the murders, a sheriff’s deputy arrived at the plant and served Ford with a restraining order filed by his girlfriend.
After co-workers “teased him a little bit,” the father-of-2 left work and returned a short while later armed with a high powered rifle and a pistol.
The shooting rampage began at 4.57 p.m. in a parking lot at the plant, about 35 miles north of Wichita.
Ford parked his prized Dodge Charger in the parking lot, exited the vehicle and shot a woman in a car before entering the plant and firing at random.
Ford reportedly chased co-workers around the plant. Police say he was “actively shooting at any targets that came into his sights.”
Reports of multiple shootings at Excel began to flood in to 911 at 5:04 p.m.
The shooting rampage ended when the first officer to respond to the scene at 5:06 p.m. engaged Ford and shot him dead near the paint room.
That officer is being hailed as a hero. The Sheriff’s Department received a congratulatory call from the White House.
Ford, of Newton, Kansas, reportedly suffered from “mental issues” and was often teased by co-workers at the plant.
One former co-worker told ABC News affiliate KAKE News that Ford was “teased a little bit” by co-workers.
Another employee said Ford “was the nicest guy I know.” He told KAKE that he and Ford chatted normally that morning after they clocked in.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton confirmed the sheriff’s office served Ford with a restraining order from his girlfriend at around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Walton believes the order is what likely triggered the attack.
Walton said such orders are typically served “because there’s some type of violence in a relationship.”
Ford appeared to be a devoted, doting father to his 2 biracial children in photos posted on his Facebook page. 2 of the images show Ford posing with the probable murder weapons.
