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Employee of factory kills co-worker, self
Compiled from Times wires GOSHEN, Ind. -- An employee who had gotten into an angry dispute Thursday with a co-worker at a milling factory here returned with a gun, shot the man to death and wounded six others before turning the gun on himself. A dozen nearby plants were evacuated during the gunfire, and students at a grade school and a small college were told to stay inside. Emergency workers were asked to prepare for more than 30 casualties. But when a SWAT team entered the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork plant on the edge of town, it discovered the shooter with a self-inflicted wound, officials said. Authorities did not identify the dead and injured, but the Indianapolis Star reported that the gunman was Robert Wissman, 36, of Goshen. Two of the wounded were listed in serious condition at area hospitals late Thursday. The rampage was apparently sparked by an argument earlier in the day between Wissman and a co-worker, said Michele Oswald, whose husband, Greg Oswald, is general manager at the Nu-Wood plant in the community of 29,000 about 100 miles east of Chicago. During the argument, Wissman, who worked in the manufacturing area of the single-story building, threatened to get a gun and kill the other man who worked on the line processing and cutting moldings, Oswald said. Supervisors told Wissman to go home and cool off, and he agreed, according to Oswald. Employees then called police, Oswald said, and were told there was nothing they could do at the time, but to call 911 if the man returned. "All I know is, he came back and started shooting," Oswald said. Police believe Wissman went to his car or home to retrieve his weapon. He returned to the factory about 2:30 p.m. and began shooting. With workers at Nu-Wood scrambling for cover and fleeing out a rear door, the first call to 911 came from another factory in the small industrial complex. Wissman was found dead near the rear of the building, police said. It was unclear how many guns he carried, and some witnesses reported that he was firing an automatic weapon, while a paramedic at the scene said Wissman had fired a 12-gauge shotgun. As many as 35 workers were in the plant at the time of the shooting. One called police from inside and told SWAT team members how to enter the building, police Chief Terry Schollian said. They moved in just after 4:15 p.m. Neighbor Josh Bryant, 21, said he regularly socialized with Wissman. "He was an all right dude. I'm really shocked that he could have done this." Nu-Wood makes a polyurethane-based product that resembles white pine. Homebuilders and remodelers use it as decorative molding and louvers. -- Information from the Los Angeles Times, Indianapolis Star and News-Sentinel was used in this report.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
