2 killed in apparent murder-suicide at Indiana engine factory

SEYMOUR, Ind. — A manager and a worker he supervised at a Cummins Inc. engine factory in southern Indiana were fatally shot Thursday morning in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities said.

Cummins spokesman Jon Mills said the two men were found dead in a new technical and office center attached to the Columbus-based company’s Seymour Engine Plant.

He declined to comment further on the shootings, but said the plant would be closed until Monday and counselors will be on hand to help employees “at this very difficult time.”

Police surrounded the plant and escorted workers outside after the shootings. Cummins worker Jan Poole said she heard a noise so loud her desk shook and she didn’t realize it was gunshots.

“I thought the ceiling was coming down. I thought something was going on with the structure. And it wasn’t until I was halfway out the door that someone said there was a shooting,” Poole told WDRB-TV.

Seymour Police Chief Bill Abbott said between two and four gunshots were reported about 8:45 a.m. He declined to characterize the shootings, citing the ongoing investigation, but State Police Sgt. Stephen Wheeles said preliminary information indicated it was an apparent murder-suicide.

Abbott said the two men were found dead in a meeting room on the second floor. The factory employs hundreds of workers who make generators and engines used in trucking, farming and construction equipment.

No one else was wounded in the shooting at the plant site about 60 miles south of Indianapolis.

Police were withholding the men’s names, pending notification of relatives.