MOORE, Okla. – The FBI is now investigating after a man was arrested, accused of beheading a woman and trying to kill another during a workplace incident in Oklahoma.
KFOR-TV reported officers were called to a food distribution warehouse in Moore, just outside of Oklahoma City, Thursday afternoon for reports of a stabbing and shooting.
Moore Police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis said 30-year-old Alton Nolen attacked one woman inside Vaughn Foods warehouse and injured another just moments after he was fired.
Authorities said Nolen left the building after losing his job, drove to the front, hit a car and walked back inside.
According to KFOR-TV, Nolen walked into the front office where he found 54-year-old Colleen Hufford and attacked her with a knife, the same kind of knife used in the food plant.
Sgt. Lewis said Nolen stabbed the woman multiple times and severed Hufford’s head.
Authorities said Nolen then met 43-year-old Traci Johnson and attacked her with the same knife.
At that point, the former CEO of the business who is also an Oklahoma reserve deputy, Mark Vaughn, shot Nolen as he was stabbing Johnson.
Sgt. Lewis said Vaughn is a hero and that the situation would have continued had he not stepped in.
Authorities said it appears Nolen was attacking victims at random.
Officers said they do not know of any relation between Nolen and the victims.
Johnson is in stable condition at the hospital.
Nolen is also in the hospital after being shot; he is expected to survive.
The FBI is now investigating Nolen’s background after former coworkers said he tried to convert them to Islam after recently converting himself.
Officials said employees are back working at the plant Friday.
About 300 employees were in the warehouse at the time of the attacks.
See the latest on this story from KFOR-TV
The Moore Police Department released the 911 tapes associated with the attack.
911 Caller: “Shut the door, shut the door!”
Dispatcher: “Moore 911, where is your emergency?”
911 Caller: “Vaughan Foods, Moore, Oklahoma, 216 N.E. 12th St. We have..”
Dispatcher: “What’s going on there?”
911 Caller: “We have someone attacking someone in the building. I was just informed. I’m in the..”
Dispatcher: “Okay, where are they at?”
911 Caller: “Inside, are they in the office? They’re in the office, front office of the building. Yeah, we can hear a lot of screaming. We’re actually in a different office but someone just came in here yelling.”
Dispatcher: “315. Okay, do you know where they’re at in the building?”
911 Caller: “In the front of the building, there’s our main entrance.”
Dispatcher: “Okay, do you know where he is at in the plant?”
911 Caller: “We know that he’s loose. He has stabbed someone.”
Dispatcher: “Yeah, we’ve got medical en route for them.
911 Caller: “Okay.”
Dispatcher: “Is anybody with him or do you know?”
911 Caller: “Hold on, my (garbled.)
Dispatcher: “Respond on lacerations. Vaughan Foods, 216, go ahead sir, N.E. 12th.”
911 Caller: “I’m going to put you on speakerphone for one second, okay?”
Dispatcher: “Standby on a map. Page 1608, time out.”
911 Caller: “Okay, so we don’t know where the person went and he went through our front office, went through the shipping office and stabbed a woman in our customer service department.”
Dispatcher: “Okay, did he know her? Do you know, is that who he was arguing with? Is she an employee?”
911 Caller: “She is an employee, yeah.”
Dispatcher: “Okay, thank you.”
911 Caller: “Lock that door.”
Dispatcher: “Yeah, go ahead lock everybody in there if you can.”
911 Caller: “Yeah, we’re trying. Okay, can you hear this in the background?”
(yelling)
Dispatcher: “Is that him? He’s back?”
911 Caller: “Yeah, it sounds like he’s running around out here.”
(loud bangs)
911 Caller: “And that, that’s a gun shot.”
Dispatcher: “Got a gun shot. Units responding to Vaughan Foods, be advised we do now have gunshots. Okay, do you know where he’s at now?”
911 Caller: “He’s in the hallway, outside of the center of the building.”
Dispatcher: “Maybe in the hallway in the center of the building. And how many more shots have you heard?”
911 Caller: “We’ve heard three.”
Dispatcher: “Three shots?”
911 Caller: “Now I’m hearing somebody yelling in the hallway, stay down.”
Dispatcher: “There’s another subject yelling in the hallway. Units be advised that there’s another subject yelling in the hallway. Still same amount of injuries.”
911 Caller: “Stay down, stay down.”
