HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a Kansas business (all times local):

The police chief in Hesston is being credited with chasing and fatally shooting a man suspected of killing three people and wounding 15 others during a shooting rampage at a local factory.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said Friday that investigators believe Hesston Police Chief Doug Schroeder shot the suspected gunman, Cedric Ford, and likely stopped him from harming more people at the Excel Industries plant on Thursday.

Investigators say 200 to 300 people were in the factory at the time.

The governor says Schroeder “seized the situation,” adding: “God bless him for doing it.”

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton didn’t identify Schroeder during a news conference after the shooting, but said the officer who stopped the gunman was a “tremendous hero” because the “shooter wasn’t done by any means.”

2:10 p.m.

A Kansas judge issued a temporary order of protection earlier this month against the man accused of killing three people and wounding 14 at a Kansas factory.

Authorities say 38-year-old Cedric Ford attacked the Excel Industries plant Thursday before being killed by a police officer.

Sedgwick County records show that a woman sought an order of protection against a Cedric Spain on Feb. 5. But when a judge issued the temporary order that day, he filed it against Cedric Ford and listed Ford’s address at the Excel plant.

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1 p.m.

President Barack Obama says the U.S. cannot become numb to mass shootings occurring once a week in the U.S.

Obama offered his condolences to the victims and families affected by Thursday’s attacks at a factory in Hesston, Kansas. He says he spoke with Hesston Mayor David Kaufman to convey his sympathies.

The president noted that the Kansas attacks follow a rampage last weekend in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Obama says Congress has no appetite to do something about gun violence, but the U.S. needs a Congress that does.

The president says the real tragedy is that this kind of violence has become routine. He spoke in Jacksonville, Florida, during an event about the economy.

12:35 p.m.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says preliminary information indicates Hesston Police Chief Doug Schroeder is the one who shot and killed the gunman suspected of killing three people at a factory.

Brownback told reporters Friday that Schroeder apparently shot and killed Cedric Ford in the Excel Industries building Thursday evening.

The governor says Schroeder didn’t wait for backup and “seized the situation.” He says “without his aggressive response,” more people would have been at risk.

According to Schroeder’s LinkedIn page, he’s been chief of Hesston since 1998.

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11:30 a.m.

The Facebook page of a Cedric Ford who worked at the Kansas factory that was the scene of multiple shootings includes pictures of a man posing with a long gun and another of a handgun in a man’s lap.

Authorities say Ford is the man who shot 15 people, killing three, at the Excel Industries plant Thursday in Hesston. He was shot and killed by a police officer.

Recent posts on the Facebook page also include music videos of rappers in Miami, photos of cars and pictures of a trip to the zoo with children posted in January.

The last posts were on Tuesday, including one where Ford says “Woke up this morning vibing God is good.”
10 a.m.

A man whose son was wounded in an attack at a Kansas factory says his son told him that when the shooting started, people were yelling “gas fire, gas fire.”

Dennis Britton Sr. says his son, Dennis Britton Jr., said he stepped away from his welding bay Thursday at the Excel Industries lawnmower parts factory in Hesston when somebody hollered at him. He says his son heard a pop and then went to the ground.

Britton Sr., who is also a welder at the factory, says his son’s right leg was severely fractured by a gunshot and that he’s being treated at a hospital in Wichita, which is about 30 miles south of Hessman.

Authorities say Cedric Ford wounded three people before he stormed into the plant and shot 15 more, killing three of them. A police officer shot and killed Ford during a shootout.

9:20 a.m.

A co-worker says the man who attacked the Kansas lawnmower parts plant left work early without explanation before showing up hours later armed with a rifle.

Matt Jarrell says he and 38-year-old Cedric Ford worked “hand-in-hand” as painters on the second shift at the Excel Industries factory in Hesston. He says Ford arrived as scheduled on Thursday but later disappeared and wasn’t there to relieve him so that he could take a break.

Jarrell told The Associated Press on Friday that someone else eventually spelled him and that he was sitting in his truck in the parking lot when he saw Ford drive up in a truck that wasn’t his. Jarrell says he sped away when he saw Ford shoot someone and then enter the building.

Authorities say Ford wounded three people before storming into the building and shooting 15 others, killing three of them. A police officer killed Ford during a shootout.

8:40 a.m.

Authorities have identified a man who opened fire on the central Kansas factory where he worked, killing three people and wounding many others, as 38-year-old Cedric Ford.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said Friday that Ford was served with a protection from abuse order about 90 minutes before the attacks began Thursday evening. He says Ford shot and wounded three people before storming the Excel Industries lawnmower parts factory in Hesston and shooting 15 others, killing three of them. A police officer killed Ford during an exchange of gunfire.

Public records show that Ford has several previous offenses in Florida over the last decade, including burglary, grand theft and fleeing from an officer. Online records show he was released from the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections in February 2007.

In Kansas, he had a misdemeanor conviction in a 2008 fighting or brawling case and various traffic violations from 2014 and 2015.

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7 a.m.

Authorities say a man who opened fire on the central Kansas factory where he worked was served with a protection from abuse order shortly before the attack.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said Friday that the sheriff’s office served the suspect with the order at around 3:30 p.m. Thursday and that he thinks it was likely what triggered the attack, which began about 90 minutes later.

He says such orders are typically served “because there’s some type of violence in a relationship,” but he declined to specify the nature of the relationship in question or to disclose the attacker’s name.

Pickett says the suspect shot two people while driving to the Excel Industries plant in Hesston where he worked and shot another person in the parking lot before going inside. He says the man shot 15 others in the lawnmower parts factory, killing three of them, before a Hesston police officer shot him dead.

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A sheriff says the police officer who shot and killed a gunman who was attacking the central Kansas factory where he worked is a “tremendous hero.”

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said Friday that had the Hesston police officer not killed the man during the Thursday evening attack at the Excel Industries lawnmower parts plant, it “would be a whole lot more tragic.”

He says there were still 200 or 300 other people in the factory and that “the shooter wasn’t done by any means.”

Walton didn’t identify the officer or the attacker.

Authorities say the attacker shot and wounded three people before storming into the factory, where he shot 15 others, killing three of them, before the officer killed him.

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11:30 p.m.

Authorities have ended a standoff at the home of a man suspected of killing three people and injuring 14 others in south-central Kansas.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said authorities believed the roommate of the suspect may have been inside the home. Walton said earlier Thursday that the suspect was killed by law enforcement officers after he opened fire at the Excel Industries plant in Hesston.

Eric McDaniel, spokeswoman for the city of Newton, said late Thursday that the standoff ended and no one else was found in the home.
Authorities have not identified the suspect.

The injured include 10 people who were reported to be in critical condition late Thursday.

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9:25 p.m.

Authorities say they have surrounded the home of a man suspected of fatally shooting three people and injuring 14 others in a series of attacks in south-central Kansas.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said at a news conference that authorities believe the roommate of the suspect may be inside the home. Walton said earlier Thursday that the suspect was killed by law enforcement officers.

Erin McDaniel, a spokeswoman for the city of Newton, said when law enforcement officers arrived, they heard loud music blaring from the home and no one answered the door.

The nearby Newton Medical Center has been locked down since about 8 p.m., with people not allowed to enter or leave, spokeswoman Leslie Helmer says. She says it was a precaution “due to police activity in the area.”

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9 p.m.

A sheriff says four people, including a gunman, are dead after a series of shootings in south-central Kansas.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton gave the updated death count at a news conference Thursday night.

Walton says all the dead were shot inside Excel Industries, which makes lawn mower products, in Hesston. He says law enforcement killed the suspect, who was an employee.

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8:00 p.m.

A sheriff says four to seven people, including a gunman, are dead after a series of shootings in south-central Kansas.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton tells KAKE-TV “anywhere from four to seven” people were killed and between 20 to 30 people were shot Thursday.

Walton says the attacks occurred at a plant that manufactures lawn mower products, a parking lot outside the plant and two other locations. Walton says the attacks were connected and that the suspect traveled between the sites and fired from his car.

Walton says a law enforcement officer killed the suspect, who was or had been an employee of Excel Industries. The suspect wasn’t immediately identified.

Walton says he doesn’t know if the man was still working there or had been fired.

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7:50 p.m.

An employee of the Kansas company where a gunman opened fire says he was in the plant during the shooting when he heard people yelling to get out of the building.

Harvey County authorities say up to four people may have been killed and up to 20 injured in the shooting Thursday at Excel Industries in Hesston.

Martin Espinoza told The Associated Press he heard a popping sound and then saw the shooter, who Espinoza says was a co-worker.

Espinoza says the shooter pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger, but the gun was empty. He says at that point, the shooter got a different gun and Martin took off running.

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7:15 p.m.

A sheriff in south-central Kansas says authorities “don’t have a lot of answers” in connection to a series of attacks that included a shooting at a business in Hesston.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton spoke during a news conference Thursday evening, calling the shooting earlier in the day at Excel Industries “just a horrible incident.” Walton says, “There’s going to be a lot of sad people before this is over.”

He says the sheriff’s office is investigating the attacks along with the FBI and Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Walton says it’s possible “as many” as three to four people are dead, including a suspect. He says the suspect was an Excel employee and was shot and killed.

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6:45 p.m.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton says 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 Hesston, Kansas.

Walton said at a news conference Thursday evening that there are “a number of crime scenes involved,” including the Excel Industries plant where dispatchers earlier said they were responding to a shooting.

Walton says the suspect was an Excel employee. He says the suspect was shot and killed.

Walton says the scene at Excel Industries has been secured.

6:25 p.m.

A college near a Kansas company where authorities are responding to a shooting has been locked down.

Jim Mason, Hesston College’s director of facilities, says faculty and staff are being kept indoors as a precaution until it’s clear a suspect is in custody. The lockdown began at about 5:20 p.m. Thursday.

Hesston is a few blocks from the Excel Industries plant where a Harvey County sheriff’s dispatcher says a shooting occurred.

Hesston College has about 450 students and is affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA.

HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say they have responded to a shooting at a business that makes lawn mower products in south-central Kansas.

A Harvey County sheriff’s dispatcher says the shooting occurred Thursday afternoon at Excel Industries in Hesston. The dispatcher, who would not give her name, said authorities were still at the scene Thursday evening.

Hesston is a community of about 3,700 residents about 35 miles north of Wichita.

KSN-TV cameras showed a large law enforcement presence at the facility and at least one person being loaded into an ambulance.