Hesston, KS – A county sheriff said Thursday it’s possible “as many” as three to four people are dead, including a suspect, and up to 20 people may be injured after a series of attacks in south-central Kansas.
Sheriff T. Walton said at a news conference Thursday evening that there are “a number of crime scenes involved,” including the Excel Industries plant in Hesston where dispatchers earlier said they were responding to a shooting.
The suspect was an Excel employee, Walton said.
Walton said the suspect was shot and killed and the scene at Excel Industries has been secured.
“I don’t have a lot of answers,” Walton said.
He said he couldn’t give an exact number of people killed and injured.
“We want to get everybody identified. We’re working on that,” Walton said.
Hesston is a community of about 3,700 residents about 35 miles north of Wichita.
KSN-TV footage showed a large law enforcement presence at Excel Industries and at least one person being loaded into an ambulance.
Excel Industries was awarded the Governor’s Exporter of the Year award in 2013 from the Kansas Department of Commerce. The company manufactures Hustler and Big Dog mowing equipment and was founded in Hesston in 1960.
As reported by Vos Iz Neias