Sixth Death In KC Rampage

A sixth person shot in a rampage at a meatpacking plant died Saturday, and investigators said they still have not determined the gunman's motive.

Authorities identified the shooter as Elijah Brown, 21, of Kansas City, Kan., who was hired at the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant in September 2003, laid off because of production downturns, and then called back to work a few months ago.

Five people died at the plant Friday, including Brown, who killed himself. The sixth died overnight at a Kansas City, Kan., hospital, police said.

Police Chief Ron Miller identified the victims as Lonnie Ellingburg, 46; Travis Nelson, 23; and Leonardo Rodriguez, 49; Ardell L. Edwards, 55, the worker who died overnight, all of Kansas City, Kan.; and a Mexican national, 45, who was not identified pending notification of his family.

Ellingburg, Nelson and Edwards are all related, police said.

Two workers were wounded. Miller identified them as Juan Ramirez, 44, of Kansas City, Kan.; and Victor Coggs, age unavailable, of Grandview, Mo. A spokesman at The University of Kansas Hospital said Coggs was treated and released Friday night, while police said Ramirez's injuries were not life-threatening.

The attack around 5 p.m. happened shortly after an employee meeting, which Brown attended, Miller said. Police are not sure about what was happened at the meeting, although Miller said witnesses told police there were no arguments. He also couldn't say if all the victims attended the meeting.

The plant workers were on break when the 10-minute rampage began. More than one weapon was used, Deputy Police Chief Sam Breshears said.

Breshears said when officers arrived the shooter was still moving through the building, but did not provide details about the circumstances under which the shooter committed suicide.

Plant employee Andre Porter, who encountered the gunman right after hearing the first shot, said the shooter had a conflict with some of the workers earlier in the week, but did not describe the conflict.

Porter, 38, of Atchison, said he was in the men's locker room when he heard a shot. He said he then saw the shooter and asked, "What are you doing ... shooting fireworks?"

He said the gunman glanced at him, then sprinted out of the locker room. Porter said that's when he noticed the man was carrying a handgun and saw a co-worker lying motionless in the hallway. Shortly after, he heard 10 to 12 shots fired rapidly in the nearby cafeteria.

Porter said he alerted other workers to stay put or get out of the building.

A posted sign on the property indicates no guns are allowed at the plant. ConAgra spokeswoman Julie DeYoung said there are security measures in place at the facility, but declined to discuss them.

Employees were kept at the plant for hours after the shooting for interviews with police while friends and family gathered outside, waiting for word.

"Everybody out here is trying to find out if their loved one is a victim or a survivor," said Robert Thompson, whose wife was inside when the shooting took place. Thompson later learned his wife was OK.

The ConAgra plant is located in an industrial section of the city, about four miles southwest of downtown Kansas City, Mo. Workers there process and slice meat for deli and sandwich products, company spokesman Bob McKeon said.

"Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families of the employees who have been involved in this tragedy," McKeon said.

DeYoung said counselors would be available Saturday and Sunday for employees, but couldn't say what other kinds of assistance, if any, would be given to the families of the victims.

The plant, which operates 24 hours a day, was to remain closed indefinitely while the shooting was being investigated, she said.

The shooting came a year and a day after an employee of a manufacturing plant in Jefferson City, Mo., shot eight people, three fatally, before killing himself in front of the city's police headquarters.