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U.S. NEWS A5
Timeline, 911 tapes
portray quick
action
amid wild
rampage several were injured in suburban Pittsburgh.
ROXANA HEGEMAN
Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A
police chief who rushed
without backup into a Kan-
sas lawnmower factory
amid a shooting rampage
fatally shot the gunman
about five minutes after
he arrived, while emer-
gency dispatchers fielded
a deluge of 911 calls from
workers fleeing the plant or
barricaded inside, accord-
ing to a timeline and 911
recordings released Thurs-
day.
About 300 people were
working at Excel Industries
in Hesston on Feb. 25 when
Cedric L. Ford barged in
armed with an assault-
type rifle and a pistol and
opened fire. Ford shot two
people en route to the
factory and an additional
15 at the plant, three of
whom died.
Authorities released the
timeline and 911 record-
ings in response to open
records requests from vari-
ous media outlets, includ-
ing The Associated Press.
The calls were redacted
to remove any identify-
ing information. The plant
had been closed since the
shootings and the release
came the same day that it
resumed operations.
The detailed timeline pre-
pared by authorities indi-
cates Ford was served with
a protection from abuse
order at 3:33 p.m. at the
Excel plant, where he
worked. He apparently left
the plant at some point. His
first victim was shot at 4:57 on Thursday in search of
p.m. in Newton while he
was returning to the plant.
A second person was
wounded along the way
at 4:59 p.m.
Gunmen worked as team to kill 6 at cookout
Allegheny County detectives look over the scene of a shooting on Thursday, March 10, 2016
in Wilkinsburg, Pa. Police say multiple people were killed in the shooting late Wednesday and
WILKINSBURG, Pa. (AP) —
Two gunmen working as
a team fatally shot five
people including a preg-
nant woman and critically
wounded two others at a
backyard cookout, with
one attacker using a rifle
to shoot the victims in the
head as they were driven
in his direction, a prosecu-
tor said Thursday.
Rain soaks Louisiana; 3 dead in severe weather
GERALD HERBERT
CHEVEL JOHNSON
Associated Press
ELM GROVE, La. (AP) —
Huge military trucks rum-
bled through neighbor-
hoods in northern Louisiana
families trapped by days of
relentless rain, while men in people killed in Louisiana
rain gear waded through
floodwaters up to their
chests to rescue stranded
animals.
The process repeated itself
throughout the day and
similar rescues were pos-
sible later Thursday in the
southern part of the state,
“The murders were
planned. They were calcu-
lated, brutal,” District Attor- have targeted one or two
ney Stephen Zappala said
of the Wednesday night-
time shootings.
The medical examiner offi-
cially ruled the death of the
fetus a homicide Thursday
afternoon, bringing the fa-
talities in the late Wednes-
day night ambush attack
which also braced for
heavy rain.
Davyon Hill, a meteo-
rologist with the National
Weather Service’s office in
Shreveport, said skies have
cleared in the region, but
the area is not yet out of
the woods.
“It’s not over with,” he said.
“There’s still part of a low
pressure system that’s in
Central Texas that is mov-
ing this way and overnight
it will likely bring another
bout of rain to the region.”
State officials said a 6-year-
old girl was among three
Friday 11 March 2016
our first step to stopping
the violence in our com-
munities.”
“As a community, we must
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) say enough is enough,” he
said.
to six. Four women, one of them
The gunmen appeared to eight months’ pregnant,
and a man were killed
of the victims, said Zap- as they rushed toward
pala, who added that they the back porch to seek
hadn’t ruled out drugs as a cover as a gunman fired
motive. a .40-caliber pistol at as
Police said they have no many as 15 adults who
suspects. Allegheny Coun- were playing cards and
ty Executive Rich Fitzgerald having a late-night cook-
urged witnesses to step for- out.
ward, saying that “can be That steered the victims to-
ward the rear porch and
door of the house, where
an accomplice armed
with a 7.62 mm rifle similar
to an AK-47 shot them from
behind a chain-link fence
less than 10 feet from the
porch, Zappala said.
Neither weapon has been
found.
The man with the rifle
aimed high throughout the
barrage of bullets.
Four of the dead were
found on the tiny back
porch.
“They were all head shots,”
Zappala said.
during two days of severe out the cats.
weather that has left roads “We don’t know if they
covered in water and sent went under the trailer or
more than 1,000 people where they are,” she said.
fleeing their homes. Sixteen Louisiana parishes
Docia Winters hugged her have declared a state of
20-year-old son, Ryan Fic- emergency, and the Na-
ca, when he got off the tional Guard was sent in to
back of a big truck Thurs- help.
day morning. Guard spokesman Re-
She said she and her bekah Malone said the
husband and daughter Guard has evacuated
evacuated their trailer on 361 people from homes
Wednesday, but Ficca had in Bossier, Ouachita and
stayed behind to look after Morehouse parishes since
their 11 cats. Wednesday morning, us-
She said the water rose so ing trucks that can travel
fast, however, that Ficca though water 20 to 30 inch-
was forced to leave with- es deep.