Sheriff: Kansas gunman kills 3, wounds 14, dies in shootout

(AP) — A gunman armed with an "assault-style" weapon drove through a south-central Kansas town, taking shots at people, before storming the factory where he worked.

All the dead were shot Thursday inside Excel Industries, a plant in Hesston that makes lawn mower products, Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said.

The shooting came less than a week after authorities say a man opened fire at several locations in the Kalamazoo, Michigan, area, leaving six people dead and two severely wounded.

"The shooter proceeded north to Excel Industries in Hesston, where one person was shot in the parking lot before he opened fire inside the building," the department said in a release.

Walton said that about 150 people were likely in the plant at the time of the shooting and that the law enforcement officer who killed the suspect "saved multiple, multiple lives."

Later Thursday night, several law enforcement vehicles surrounded the suspect's home in a Newton trailer park.

The company manufactures Hustler and Big Dog mowing equipment and was awarded the Governor's Exporter of the Year award in 2013 from the Kansas Department of Commerce.