Gunman kills up to four in Kansas shooting spree

A woman has been charged with providing guns to the man who killed three people and injured several others at a factory in Kansas.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said preliminary information indicated that the officer was Hesston Police Chief Doug Schroeder, who did not wait for backup and “seized the situation”.

While it wasn’t immediately clear what led to the protection order, Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said, “I believe that probably is the trigger, and it went from there”.

Authorities say Ford wounded three people before storming into the building and shooting 15 others, killing three of them.

Dennis Britton Jr. suffered a fracture in his right leg when a bullet went through his buttocks and out his leg. Britton’s father, Dennis Britton Sr., who also works at the plant as a welding team leader, said his son was “awake and talking and communicating”.

Dennis Britton, Excel Industries employee shot by a gunman who opened fire inside the plant on Thursday, Feb.25, 2016.

Three people, identified as Joshua Higbee, Brian Sadowsky and Renee Benjamin, were killed in the attack.

The woman, in a written petition for protection from abuse that was filed February 5, says she and Ford were arguing verbally that day in the 1800 block of South Green Acres Drive when he “became physical by him pushing me then grabbing me”.

According to Ford’s Facebook page, he was employed as a painter at Excel Industries.

The carnage ended thanks to a lone Hesston police officer who went inside, engaged Ford in gunfire and killed him around 5:24 p.m., according to Walton.

It’s a rapid response law enforcement officers across the Kansas City metro proactively train for.

Yet one of his Excel co-workers, Matt Jarrell, described Ford as “a mellow guy” and “somebody I could talk to about anything”.

The first person Ford shot was a man driving with his two children, Walton said.

Syme said about one-third of Independence police officers are now trained to carry trauma kits in their cars, allowing them to provide tourniquets and bandages to shooting victims before EMS arrive on active shooter scenes.

Walton said 200 or 300 other people were still in the factory when Ford was shot dead. “So no call is routine in law enforcement”.

Excel Industries’ CEO, Paul Mullet, said Friday that his first priority is his employees’ “safety and wellness”.

“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.

Walton said Ford was upset by the order but didn’t display any “outrageous” behaviour at the time.

The gunman was identified as Cedric Ford, a 38-year-old worker at the factory.

Walton said authorities are expected to release the name of the officer on Friday morning.

“He was randomly shooting people”, said Walton.

Ford had been served a protection from abuse order earlier Thursday at the factory, which may have triggered the bloodshed, authorities said.