Six killed in shootings at Kentucky plastics plant

An press operator shot and killed a supervisor and four others after an argument at a western Kentucky plastics plant in a rampage that ended in the gunman’s suicide, local police and company officials said.

The shooting happened around midnight on June 24 at Atlantis Plastics, located in the town of Henderson.

Police said Wesley N. Higdon, 25, had an argument with his supervisor about wearing safety goggles and using his cellphone while was at his press machine. As Higdon was being escorted from the building, he took out a gun, shot the supervisor, then charged back into a break room and shot several employees. Then he returned to the floor and shot another employee before killing himself, CEO Bud Philbrook told The Associated Press.

The Atlanta-based company has 1,300 employees worldwide, and about 150 in Henderson, where workers make parts for refrigerators and plastic siding for homes.

Atlantis makes polyethylene stretch films for wrapping pallets of materials, custom films for industrial and packaging uses, and molded plastic pieces used in products such as appliances and recreational vehicles.

The company has plants and offices in Fort Smith, Ark.; Fontana, Calif.; Cartersville, Ga.; Elkhart, Ind.; Henderson and Nicholasville, Ky.; Sterling Heights, Mich.; Mankato, Minn.; Tulsa, Okla.; Jackson and La Vergne, Tenn.; and Alamo, Texas.

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