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(CNN) — [Breaking news update, posted at 10:37 p.m. ET]
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton told reporters that whoever shot the gunman responsible for a series of shootings in Kansas on Thursday “saved a whole lot of lives” and is a “hero.”
No one from law enforcement was injured.
[Breaking news update, posted at 10:34 p.m. ET]
The victims in Thursday’s shootings appear to have been randomly targeted, Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton told reporters.
[Breaking news update, posted at 10:29 p.m. ET]
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton ruled out terrorism as a motive in Thursday’s shootings.
“There was some things that triggered this particular individual,” he said, declining to discuss what those things were.
[Breaking news update, posted at 10:25 p.m. ET]
The gunman in a series of shootings in Kansas on Thursday had a “long gun, something like an assault rifle,” Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton told reporters.
He said the shooter is also believed to have had a pistol.
[Breaking news update, posted at 10:20 p.m. ET]
Three people were killed and 14 injured Thursday in a series of shootings that ended at Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas, Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton told reporters.
Several of the people wounded are in critical condition at area hospitals, Walton said.
The shooter was also killed.
[Previous story, posted at 10:07 p.m. ET]
(CNN) — Multiple people were killed Thursday in a series of shootings that ended at Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas, Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton told reporters.
The suspected shooter, an employee at Excel, was killed by authorities.
“There could be as many as three or four others (dead), and possibly up to 20 people that have been injured,” Walton said.
He estimated that about 150 people were working at Excel at the time of the shooting.
The sheriff told reporters that authorities first received a report of a man having been shot while driving. Second, a person was reported shot in the leg. Third, a report came in about a shooting in the parking lot of Excel. Finally, an active shooter was reported inside the workplace, Walton said.
A woman named Edna told CNN affiliate KWCH that she was leaving a grocery store when she crossed paths with the shooter. She said she put her car in reverse when a man got out of his truck and came up to her window and shot at her.
“I’m OK, the Lord took good care of me,” Edna told KWCH, her voice breaking with emotion.
Matt Gerald told The Hesston Record newspaper that he was outside on break when he saw the shooter get out of his truck with a gun.
“I saw the shooter get out of his truck, shoot someone down and go into the building,” Gerald reportedly said. “I was flabbergasted. I was at a loss for words.”
An eyewitness identified as Dylan spoke to CNN affiliate KSNW, saying that he was unloading pallets in the back of the building at the time of the shooting.
“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. “We really didn’t know what was going on.”
As he spoke, Dylan rubbed his hands, which had blood on them. He said he’d tried to help a man who’d been shot.
Authorities have not yet identified the shooter.
Gov. Sam Brownback offered his condolences to the people of Hesston, which is 35 miles north of Wichita.
“This will take some time to work through,” Walton said, citing the large number of crime scenes and people involved.
Excel Industries, founded in 1960, is a maker of lawn care products.
“This is just a horrible incident that’s happened here,” the sheriff said. “It’s going to be a lot of sad people before this is all over.”
CNN’s Keith Allen and Melanie Whitley contributed to this report.
