Four killed, 30 injured in Kansas factory shooting

At least four people have lost their lives and 30 have been injured in a shooting incident at a factory in the US state of Kansas, police say.

According to Sheriff T. Walton, the incident occurred after 5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) on Thursday when a gunman opened fire at a lawn mower factory, Excel Industries, about 30 miles north of Wichita, Kansas.

The gunman, identified as Cedric Ford, 38, reportedly an ex-employee at the factory in the town of Hesston, was killed by the authorities, Walton said.

Describing the shooting as “a horrible incident”, 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.

He added that the FBI and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation had been called in to assist and Hesston College, a two-year institution nearby, was ordered on lockdown as a safety precaution.

Witnesses reported seeing the gunman first shoot a woman in the parking lot of the factory before entering the assembly area and opening fire.

Meanwhile, Walton said at least two of the victims were shot by the gunman on the street before he reached the Excel factory. He said one was shot in the shoulder and one in the leg.

"We want to know what triggered this. We need to know the history of the shooter, and then we have to try to heal," he said.

One man said his 21-year-old nephew had been shot four times in the back and was taken to hospital.

According to Florida court documents, Ford was charged with multiple crimes in his history, including burglary, grand theft, fleeing and eluding and other charges dating back to 1996.

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