Kentucky Man Kills 5, Self, at Plastics Factory

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Members of the small community of Henderson, Kentucky, are in shock after a man brought a gun into the local Atlantis Plastics factory and killed five co-workers before shooting himself.

Wesley Higdon, 25, apparently had an argument with his supervisor shortly after midnight on Wednesday, left the building and returned with a handgun. Higdon, a press operator at the plant, had allegedly told his girlfriend he planned to kill his boss.

Higdon and his boss, Kevin Taylor, had argued about his using a cell phone at work and failing to use safety goggles. He was ordered to leave the building. He then reportedly left to retrieve a handgun, which may have been in his car, and returned to work.

He encountered his supervisor outside the building and shot him, before going into an employee break room and opening fire on those gathered there. Higdon then turned the gun on himself.

Higdon and one other victim were pronounced dead at the scene, and four others died at local hospitals. A sixth victim was shot several times but survived, and is in stable condition.

Higdon used a .45 semi-automatic handgun, and reloaded it at least once during his shooting spree.

The small town of 28,000 is stunned by the shootings. Atlantis CEO Bud Philbrook told reporters, "It's just total shock. It's something you read about in the paper."

A worker at the plant called 911 and tried to describe the scene to the police dispatcher. "There's more than two people dead," said the worker, according to dispatch tapes. "There's like one, two, three, four, five people dead. The supervisor is dead, too."

The remaining employees, about 35 total, were sent home after the shooting.

Atlantis managers are mystified as to why Higdon would have acted so drastically against his supervisor and coworkers, and company sources said that he was a "normal" employee.

Said Philbrook, "There's certainly no record of untoward activity or performance prior to this situation."

Several of the workers killed were members of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in nearby Sebree, Kentucky. The Reverend Jason McClure echoed what others had said about the community’s feelings of shock, and saying of the victims’ families, "They are very upset and hurting deeply and just trying to figure out what to do next."