ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A current or former employee shot one person and wounded three others before apparently killing himself at a rail car manufacturing plant in Virginia early Tuesday, authorities said.
Officers responded to a report of an active shooter just after 6 a.m. at FreightCar America, located in an industrial area near downtown Roanoke, Police Chief Tim Jones said.
Two people, including the shooter, were found dead at the facility, Jones said. Three others with gun-related injuries were taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. One patient was in serious condition, one was in fair condition and the other is in good condition, the hospital said in a statement.
Jones said police believe the man had once worked for or was still an employee of the facility. Authorities have not identified him or the victims.
Jones said police plan to get statements from one witness who hid inside a bathroom during the shooting and others present at the scene.
Police sent out a tweet later Tuesday saying they searched the facility, which includes several buildings over several acres, and determined there were no other threats.
Chicago-based FreightCar America opened the facility in 2005 on land leased from Norfolk Southern. It builds railroad cars at the site and has other manufacturing facilities in Cherokee, Ala., and Danville, Ill.
In August, the company said it would eliminate 15 percent of its salaried workforce. The company said it faced unexpected and rising costs for new types of rail cars that it makes, as well as fewer deliveries of them. It’s already significantly curtailed operations at an Illinois facility this year.
Police believe the shooter who killed one person and himself and injured at least three others was an employee or ex-employee of the company.