(Reuters) – The man suspected of killing three people at the Kansas lawnmower factory where he worked had been served a protection order 90 minutes before his shooting spree, which also wounded 14 people, authorities said yes.
The suspect, identified as Cedric Ford, 38, was armed with a .223-caliber assault-style rifle and a pistol as he fired randomly at coworkers and others over about 30 minutes on Thursday.
The first police officer to reach the scene, Hesston Police Chief Doug Schroeder, killed Ford in an exchange of gunfire, said police secretary Jeannine Hoheisel. Hesston is a town of about 4,000 people about 36 miles (60 km) north of Wichita.
“The man was not going to stop shooting,” Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said on Friday, noting that there were up to 300 people in the Excel Industries factory where the worst of the rampage took place.
“The only reason he stopped shooting is because that officer stopped the shooter.”
