Shooting at California Meat Plant Leaves One Dead, Four Injured
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Hemera/Thinkstock(FRESNO, Calif.) — A gunman opened fire Tuesday morning at a meat processing plant in Fresno, Calif., killing one co-worker and shooting three others before he critically wounded himself.
The shooting happened around 8:27 a.m. at Valley Protein, a meat processing and handling plant.
The gunman, who was identified as Lawrence Jones, 42, was in critical condition after he shot himself in the head, said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
Jones, who had worked at the plant for 14 months, clocked in at 4:58 Tuesday morning.
“According to one of his coworkers, he did not appear to be himself when he came to work,” Dyer said.
Less than four hours later, he allegedly opened fire on his co-workers. Dyer said at least 30 employees witnessed the shooting.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they found Jones with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, lying on a sidewalk outside the plant.
Two of the victims were taken to Community Regional Medical Center and are in critical condition, Dyer said. A third victim was listed in serious condition.
A recording at Apple Valley Farms said the business is closed on Tuesday “due to an emergency.”
“We’re still trying to determine what led up to that shooting,” Dyer said, “what provoked these actions from the suspect.”
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