HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — A woman has been charged with providing guns to the man who killed three people and injured several others at a factory in Kansas.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Friday that 28-year-old Sarah T. Hopkins is charged with one count of knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon.
An affidavit says the Newton woman gave Cedric Ford two guns: a Zastava Serbia, which is an AK-47-type semi-automatic rifle, and a Glock Model 22 40-caliber handgun.
Prosecutors say Hopkins knew Ford wasn’t allowed to have a firearm because he was a convicted felon.
Police fatally shot Ford during the shooting at Excel Industries in nearby Hesston on Thursday.
Hopkins is in custody. She’s expected to make a first court appearance Monday.
A phone call to a number listed for her was not answered. Court records do not indicate Hopkins has an attorney.
HUTCHINSON -The conviction and sentence of 21-years for a Kansas man who was found guilty of attacking Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder during a court hearing has been upheld by the Kansas Court of Appeals
A Reno County jury convicted Michael Sherman, 27, Hutchinson, of attempted first degree murder for attacking Schroeder as he was being sentenced in another case.
The defense had sought a lesser sentence for Sherman, stating that the only reason so much time was being considered was the fact that the victim was the district attorney.
He went on to say that Sherman was simply frustrated. The judge denied the motion, noting that the attack was not just on Schroeder, but also on the court system and a place where people are supposed to feel safe.
Law enforcement near the parting lot of Excel in Hesston -Courtesy photo
HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have identified the three people killed during a shooting at a Kansas factory.
The dead were 30-year-old Renee Benjamin, whose hometown was unavailable; 44-year-old Brian Sadowsky of Newton; and 31-year-old Josh Higbee of Buhler.
The three were killed when Cedric Ford randomly shot at people while driving and when he got to the Excel Industries plant on Thursday evening. Hesston Police Chief Doug Schroeder shot and killed Ford inside the plant.
GEARY COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Geary County are investigating a suspect on drug charges.
Just after 1:30 on Friday morning, Robert Wertzerger, 63, Alma, was westbound on Interstate 70 just west of McDowell Creek Road.
Officers stopped his vehicle and arrested him on multiple allegations including suspicion of Driving Under the Influence, Transporting an Open Container, Fail to Maintain Lane, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Trafficking Contraband into a Correctional Facility, and No Drug Tax Stamp.
Photo by Andy Marso/KHI News Service Gov. Sam Brownback touted his administration’s policies — including reinstating a work requirement for food stamp recipients — as an alternative to what he described as a series of failed welfare policies dating back to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “war on poverty” in the mid-1960s.
Gov. Sam Brownback made his case Thursday for why Kansas food stamp reforms should be a national welfare-to-work model, even though the study he used to support his claim showed almost 80 percent of Kansans affected remained in poverty.
The governor touted his administration’s policies — including reinstating a work requirement for food stamp recipients — as an alternative to what he described as a series of failed welfare programs dating back to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “war on poverty” in the mid-1960s.
Data from the Kansas Department for Children and Families and the Kansas Department of Labor, which the right-leaning Foundation for Government Accountability analyzed for a report, showed incomes rose 127 percent, on average, for the roughly 41,000 Kansans who no longer receive food stamps, Brownback said. “This is success,” he said. “The objective here is to get people out of poverty.
As of the fourth quarter of 2014, about 79 percent of Kansans who had lost food stamps remained in poverty, however, and 71 percent were in “severe poverty,” meaning they had annual income below $5,885, which is half of the poverty line for a single adult. The report didn’t track poverty data in 2015.
Incomes among those Kansans did rise 127 percent by the end of 2014, on average, increasing from $2,453 per year to $5,562 per year. The federal poverty line for a single adult is $11,770 a year.
The report tracked adults, without disabilities or dependents, who no longer received food stamps after Kansas reinstated a requirement that they work at least 20 hours per week or participate in certain job training programs.
Generally, the people tracked for the study left the food stamp program for one of three reasons:
They obtained a job and earned too much to remain eligible.
They were disqualified because they failed to get a job.
They consistently worked less than 20 hours a week.
Those who found jobs did better, with average incomes of $13,304. Still, 51 percent of those who landed jobs remained below the poverty line and 30 percent remained in “severe poverty.”
Shannon Cotsoradis, president and CEO of Kansas Action for Children, said she is concerned that more Kansans are being disqualified from food stamps because they aren’t working enough hours than because they are earning too much.
“A true measure of success would be the number of Kansans leaving public assistance programs because they earn too much to qualify. Instead, the data presented today shows that Kansas adults are losing food assistance because they aren’t able to find enough work and earn too little,” Cotsoradis said in a written statement.
“These policy changes do not promote self-sufficiency — they only force some of the state’s poorest Kansans to go hungry.” The report showed 59 percent of the 12,859 Kansans in the first group removed from food stamps found jobs within one year — meaning about 5,272 still were unemployed a year after their last food stamp payment.
Some former recipients reported earning $40,000 or more per year, but a larger percentage found work in traditionally low-wage industries. About 19 percent had jobs in food service, 16 percent were working in retail and 7 percent worked in nursing and residential care facilities.
Brownback said reinstating the work requirement has succeeded because it has moved more people out of poverty than the “big government” policies that it replaced. It wasn’t clear what data he used for comparison. He said that although he won’t be satisfied until all Kansans are living above the poverty line, “this is something that has worked and is working.”
Brownback suggested U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan might consider the Kansas program as a model for federal reforms. Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer also recently visited Ohio to tout Kansas’ changes to public assistance.
“People who used to be dependent on government are finding more than just a way out of poverty,” Brownback said. “They find dignity and self-worth.”
Megan Hart is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach her on Twitter @meganhartMC
GREAT BEND -Officials with the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office are helping investigate a fatal fire at a mobile home in Great Bend.
The fire was reported just after 8 a.m. on Friday at a mobile home near the intersection of 4th and Pine, according to Great Bend Fire Chief Mike Napalitano.
Investigator headed to the scene of a fatality fire in a Great Bend trailer home.
“We have one confirmed fatality,” according to Napalitano. No other injuries are reported.
A 19-year old occupant stated he woke to the sounds of breaking glass and alerted the other occupant of the fire. The 19-year old escaped through a window and went to a neighbor’s house to call 911. Once firefighters were able to gain entry they found Lance Stevens, 41, in the back bedroom. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of the fire has been ruled accidental with the probability of electrical.
JEFFESON COUNTY- Two people were injured in an accident just before 10:30 a.m. on Friday in Jefferson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 GMC Sierra driven by Richard Allerheiligen, 64, Meriden, was southbound on Kansas 4 just south of Harper Lane.
The pickup rear-ended a 2010 Dodge Charger driven by Jeffrey Smith, 36, Atchison, that was stopped waiting for a vehicle to turn.
The collision caused the Dodge to rear-end a 2001 Buick LeSabre driven by Clifford Lobb, 93, Nortonville, which was also stopped.
Lobb and a passenger Cora Lobb, 86, Nortonville, were transported to Stormont Vail in Topeka.
All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a Kansas business (all times local):
The police chief in Hesston is being credited with chasing and fatally shooting a man suspected of killing three people and wounding 15 others during a shooting rampage at a local factory.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said Friday that investigators believe Hesston Police Chief Doug Schroeder shot the suspected gunman, Cedric Ford, and likely stopped him from harming more people at the Excel Industries plant on Thursday.
Investigators say 200 to 300 people were in the factory at the time.
The governor says Schroeder “seized the situation,” adding: “God bless him for doing it.”
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton didn’t identify Schroeder during a news conference after the shooting, but said the officer who stopped the gunman was a “tremendous hero” because the “shooter wasn’t done by any means.”
2:10 p.m.
A Kansas judge issued a temporary order of protection earlier this month against the man accused of killing three people and wounding 14 at a Kansas factory.
Authorities say 38-year-old Cedric Ford attacked the Excel Industries plant Thursday before being killed by a police officer.
Sedgwick County records show that a woman sought an order of protection against a Cedric Spain on Feb. 5. But when a judge issued the temporary order that day, he filed it against Cedric Ford and listed Ford’s address at the Excel plant.
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1 p.m.
President Barack Obama says the U.S. cannot become numb to mass shootings occurring once a week in the U.S.
Obama offered his condolences to the victims and families affected by Thursday’s attacks at a factory in Hesston, Kansas. He says he spoke with Hesston Mayor David Kaufman to convey his sympathies.
The president noted that the Kansas attacks follow a rampage last weekend in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Obama says Congress has no appetite to do something about gun violence, but the U.S. needs a Congress that does.
The president says the real tragedy is that this kind of violence has become routine. He spoke in Jacksonville, Florida, during an event about the economy.
12:35 p.m.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says preliminary information indicates Hesston Police Chief Doug Schroeder is the one who shot and killed the gunman suspected of killing three people at a factory.
Brownback told reporters Friday that Schroeder apparently shot and killed Cedric Ford in the Excel Industries building Thursday evening.
The governor says Schroeder didn’t wait for backup and “seized the situation.” He says “without his aggressive response,” more people would have been at risk.
According to Schroeder’s LinkedIn page, he’s been chief of Hesston since 1998.
11:30 a.m.
Ford from his facebook page
The Facebook page of a Cedric Ford who worked at the Kansas factory that was the scene of multiple shootings includes pictures of a man posing with a long gun and another of a handgun in a man’s lap.
Authorities say Ford is the man who shot 15 people, killing three, at the Excel Industries plant Thursday in Hesston. He was shot and killed by a police officer.
Recent posts on the Facebook page also include music videos of rappers in Miami, photos of cars and pictures of a trip to the zoo with children posted in January.
The last posts were on Tuesday, including one where Ford says “Woke up this morning vibing God is good.”
10 a.m.
A man whose son was wounded in an attack at a Kansas factory says his son told him that when the shooting started, people were yelling “gas fire, gas fire.”
Dennis Britton Sr. says his son, Dennis Britton Jr., said he stepped away from his welding bay Thursday at the Excel Industries lawnmower parts factory in Hesston when somebody hollered at him. He says his son heard a pop and then went to the ground.
Britton Sr., who is also a welder at the factory, says his son’s right leg was severely fractured by a gunshot and that he’s being treated at a hospital in Wichita, which is about 30 miles south of Hessman.
Authorities say Cedric Ford wounded three people before he stormed into the plant and shot 15 more, killing three of them. A police officer shot and killed Ford during a shootout.
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9:20 a.m.
Law enforcement near the scene of Thursday mass shooting in Hesston- courtesy photo
A co-worker says the man who attacked the Kansas lawnmower parts plant left work early without explanation before showing up hours later armed with a rifle.
Matt Jarrell says he and 38-year-old Cedric Ford worked “hand-in-hand” as painters on the second shift at the Excel Industries factory in Hesston. He says Ford arrived as scheduled on Thursday but later disappeared and wasn’t there to relieve him so that he could take a break.
Jarrell told The Associated Press on Friday that someone else eventually spelled him and that he was sitting in his truck in the parking lot when he saw Ford drive up in a truck that wasn’t his. Jarrell says he sped away when he saw Ford shoot someone and then enter the building.
Authorities say Ford wounded three people before storming into the building and shooting 15 others, killing three of them. A police officer killed Ford during a shootout.
8:40 a.m.
Authorities have identified a man who opened fire on the central Kansas factory where he worked, killing three people and wounding many others, as 38-year-old Cedric Ford.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said Friday that Ford was served with a protection from abuse order about 90 minutes before the attacks began Thursday evening. He says Ford shot and wounded three people before storming the Excel Industries lawnmower parts factory in Hesston and shooting 15 others, killing three of them. A police officer killed Ford during an exchange of gunfire.
Public records show that Ford has several previous offenses in Florida over the last decade, including burglary, grand theft and fleeing from an officer. Online records show he was released from the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections in February 2007.
In Kansas, he had a misdemeanor conviction in a 2008 fighting or brawling case and various traffic violations from 2014 and 2015.
7 a.m.
Authorities say a man who opened fire on the central Kansas factory where he worked was served with a protection from abuse order shortly before the attack.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said Friday that the sheriff’s office served the suspect with the order at around 3:30 p.m. Thursday and that he thinks it was likely what triggered the attack, which began about 90 minutes later.
He says such orders are typically served “because there’s some type of violence in a relationship,” but he declined to specify the nature of the relationship in question or to disclose the attacker’s name.
Officials said the suspect shot two people while driving to the Excel Industries plant in Hesston where he worked and shot another person in the parking lot before going inside. The man shot 15 others in the lawnmower parts factory, killing three of them, before a Hesston police officer shot him dead.
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6:30 a.m.
A sheriff says the police officer who shot and killed a gunman who was attacking the central Kansas factory where he worked is a “tremendous hero.”
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said Friday that had the Hesston police officer not killed the man during the Thursday evening attack at the Excel Industries lawnmower parts plant, it “would be a whole lot more tragic.”
He says there were still 200 or 300 other people in the factory and that “the shooter wasn’t done by any means.”
Walton didn’t identify the officer or the attacker.
Authorities say the attacker shot and wounded three people before storming into the factory, where he shot 15 others, killing three of them, before the officer killed him.
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11:30 p.m.
Authorities have ended a standoff at the home of a man suspected of killing three people and injuring 14 others in south-central Kansas.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said authorities believed the roommate of the suspect may have been inside the home. Walton said earlier Thursday that the suspect was killed by law enforcement officers after he opened fire at the Excel Industries plant in Hesston.
Eric McDaniel, spokeswoman for the city of Newton, said late Thursday that the standoff ended and no one else was found in the home.
Authorities have not identified the suspect.
The injured include 10 people who were reported to be in critical condition late Thursday.
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9:25 p.m.
Authorities say they have surrounded the home of a man suspected of fatally shooting three people and injuring 14 others in a series of attacks in south-central Kansas.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said at a news conference that authorities believe the roommate of the suspect may be inside the home. Walton said earlier Thursday that the suspect was killed by law enforcement officers.
Erin McDaniel, a spokeswoman for the city of Newton, said when law enforcement officers arrived, they heard loud music blaring from the home and no one answered the door.
The nearby Newton Medical Center has been locked down since about 8 p.m., with people not allowed to enter or leave, spokeswoman Leslie Helmer says. She says it was a precaution “due to police activity in the area.”
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9 p.m.
A sheriff says four people, including a gunman, are dead after a series of shootings in south-central Kansas.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton gave the updated death count at a news conference Thursday night.
Walton says all the dead were shot inside Excel Industries, which makes lawn mower products, in Hesston. He says law enforcement killed the suspect, who was an employee.
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8:00 p.m.
A sheriff says four to seven people, including a gunman, are dead after a series of shootings in south-central Kansas.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton tells KAKE-TV “anywhere from four to seven” people were killed and between 20 to 30 people were shot Thursday.
Walton says the attacks occurred at a plant that manufactures lawn mower products, a parking lot outside the plant and two other locations. Walton says the attacks were connected and that the suspect traveled between the sites and fired from his car.
Walton says a law enforcement officer killed the suspect, who was or had been an employee of Excel Industries. The suspect wasn’t immediately identified.
Walton says he doesn’t know if the man was still working there or had been fired.
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7:50 p.m.
An employee of the Kansas company where a gunman opened fire says he was in the plant during the shooting when he heard people yelling to get out of the building.
Harvey County authorities say up to four people may have been killed and up to 20 injured in the shooting Thursday at Excel Industries in Hesston.
Martin Espinoza told The Associated Press he heard a popping sound and then saw the shooter, who Espinoza says was a co-worker.
Espinoza says the shooter pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger, but the gun was empty. He says at that point, the shooter got a different gun and Martin took off running.
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7:15 p.m.
A sheriff in south-central Kansas says authorities “don’t have a lot of answers” in connection to a series of attacks that included a shooting at a business in Hesston.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton spoke during a news conference Thursday evening, calling the shooting earlier in the day at Excel Industries “just a horrible incident.” Walton says, “There’s going to be a lot of sad people before this is over.”
He says the sheriff’s office is investigating the attacks along with the FBI and Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Walton says it’s possible “as many” as three to four people are dead, including a suspect. He says the suspect was an Excel employee and was shot and killed.
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6:45 p.m.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton says it’s possible “as many” as three to four people are dead, including a suspect, and up to 20 people may be injured after a series of attacks in Hesston, Kansas.
Walton said at a news conference Thursday evening that there are “a number of crime scenes involved,” including the Excel Industries plant where dispatchers earlier said they were responding to a shooting.
Walton says the suspect was an Excel employee. He says the suspect was shot and killed.
Walton says the scene at Excel Industries has been secured.
6:25 p.m.
A college near a Kansas company where authorities are responding to a shooting has been locked down.
Jim Mason, Hesston College’s director of facilities, says faculty and staff are being kept indoors as a precaution until it’s clear a suspect is in custody. The lockdown began at about 5:20 p.m. Thursday.
Hesston is a few blocks from the Excel Industries plant where a Harvey County sheriff’s dispatcher says a shooting occurred.
Hesston College has about 450 students and is affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA.
HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say they have responded to a shooting at a business that makes lawn mower products in south-central Kansas.
A Harvey County sheriff’s dispatcher says the shooting occurred Thursday afternoon at Excel Industries in Hesston. The dispatcher, who would not give her name, said authorities were still at the scene Thursday evening.
Hesston is a community of about 3,700 residents about 35 miles north of Wichita.
KSN-TV cameras showed a large law enforcement presence at the facility and at least one person being loaded into an ambulance.
SALINE COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a reported alleged sexual assault on a Great Bend activity bus.
Officials determined the assault that was reported to have occurred on February 3, did not occur in Saline County, according to Saline County Sheriff’s Captain Roger Soldan.
Investigators conducted interviews, developed a timeline and determined the assault would have taken place in Barton County, according to Soldan.
On February 20, a 15-year-old boy came to Salina with a parent to report a sexual assault had occurred following a swim meet at Salina South High School.
Soldan said the case has now been sent to the Barton County Sheriff’s Office.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has struck down as unconstitutional a state law that punishes suspected drunken drivers who refuse to submit to a sobriety test.
The state’s high court, by a 6-1 vote Friday, declared the law a violation of the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
Under Kansas law, refusing to submit to a sobriety test has been punishable by a one-year suspension of the driver’s license.
Friday’s ruling came a little more than two months since the U.S. Supreme Court announced it also will decide whether states can criminalize a driver’s refusal to take an alcohol test even if police have not obtained a search warrant.
Roughly a dozen states make it a crime to refuse to consent to warrantless alcohol testing.
Fire crews on the scene of Wednesday’s fatal fire in Salina photo by Terry Trebrugge
SALINA – Officials continue to investigate the fire in Salina that claimed the life of a 3-year-old boy.
Just after 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday the Salina Fire Department was dispatched to 917 N. 13th Street for a report of a mobile home on fire with possible victims inside, according to a media release.
Upon arrival, fire crews found heavy fire showing from a singlewide mobile home. The fire had also spread to a neighboring mobile home and was involved in flames.
The initial on-scene report was there were two children trapped inside the burning home.
Fire crews initiated search and rescue and fire extinguishment efforts. While conducting the search, it was determined that one of the children had escaped. However, one child was still unaccounted for and presumed to be still inside. Fire crews did find a child inside the burning home. He was removed, immediately taken to an awaiting ambulance and transported to Salina Regional Health Center where he died.
There were three mobile homes affected by this incident, two of which are considered to be a total loss. The third mobile home received exterior fire damage to an enclosed porch, but is habitable. Investigators are still determining dollar loss estimates.
An extensive examination was conducted of the mobile home. However, due to the extreme heat and fire damage, an exact cause and point of origin could not be determined. Investigators continue to gather information.
NEWTON – Churches in Newton are helping those impacted by Thursday shooting at Excel in Hesston.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church announced via social media overnight they would have a Rosary on Friday morning to pray for those affected by Thursday’s shooting.
They also said counselors were available at St. Mary’s school
The First Presbyterian church in Newton wrote on social media “we pray this day for the victims of violence in Hesston and in so many other places. Strengthen us as your people, to minister to those in need and to receive the help we ourselves need.”
As we learn more about the details of the tragedy in South Central Kansas tonight, my heart goes out to the victims and their families. — Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) February 26, 2016
Please send your thoughts and prayers to the people of Hesston tonight.
Flags in Kansas to be lowered from sunrise to sundown Friday 2/26 to honor victims and families of Hesston shooting. — Sam Brownback (@govsambrownback) February 26, 2016
