Authorities believe a man who killed three people and injured 14 others in a shooting spree Thursday evening may have been motivated by a court order issued to keep him away from his former girlfriend.
According to ABC News, Cedric Larry Ford, 38, was served with a restraining order at his home in Newton, Kan., 90 minutes before he went on a shooting spree.
Ford got in his car at 5 p.m. and drove to the office of Excel Industries, his workplace. He stopped twice along the way to fire on vehicles and passersby, injuring at least two people. Most of the casualties came after he arrived at Excel, a company that manufactures lawn care equipment.
Witnesses told local TV station KAKE the scene was chaotic as Ford chased and fired at Excel employees.
“They were saying fire, fire, fire we didn't know they were getting shot,” Excel employee Marty Pierce told KAKE.
Authorities say Ford used a "long gun" that fired .223 caliber bullets. He later was shot and killed by authorities.
Criminal records show Ford has had multiple run-ins with the law in the past, including charges for burglary, fleeing police officers, grand theft, and an unspecified felony. The Wichita Eagle reports, earlier this month, a woman claiming to be Ford's girlfriend filed a written petition for protection for abuse earlier in the month, claiming he had assaulted her.
A Facebook page that the Washington Post identified as belonging to the shooter consists mainly of photos of Ford around cars and guns as well as videos of him dancing to the Drake song "Summer Sixteen."
The Associated Press reported that, of the 11 victims taken to Wichita, Kan., hospitals, one was in critical condition, five were in serious condition and five were in fair condition. The other victims were taken to a Newton hospital and their status was not known as of Friday morning.
The Kansas shooting comes days after a 45-year-old man in Kalamazoo, Mich., shot and killed six people. According to the crowd-sourced Mass Shooting Tracker, which defines a mass shooting as "an incident of violence in which 4 or more people are shot," this is the 49th mass shooting of 2016. The website tracked 378 in 2015.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.