One killed, four injured in St. Louis factory shooting rampage

One killed, four injured in St. Louis factory shooting rampage

·A man walked into a plant in St. Louis and opened fire, killing one and wounding four others.
·The gunman was a disgruntled worker who may have recently lost his job, reports say.
·Some employees ran to the building's rooftop to escape the gunfire.

A member of the St. Louis Fire Department pushes a person on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance outside ABB Inc.,Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010, in St. Louis, the U.S. Police were called to the scene after a gunman with a rifle walked into the business and began shooting.

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 -- A man armed with an assault rifle and handgun walked into a plant in St. Louis, Missouri, on Thursday and opened fire, killing one person and wounding four others, authorities said.

According to reports reaching here, the shooting occurred around 6:30 a.m. local time at the ABB Power factory on the city's north side. Some employees ran to the building's rooftop to escape the gunfire while another man barricaded himself in a maintenance room.

A company supervisor told police that the gunman was a disgruntled worker who may have recently lost his job, according to reports.

Fire Department spokesman Bob Keuss identified the suspected shooter as Timothy Herndon, of Webster Groves. Mo. KMOX radio said Herndon had worked for the company for 23 years.

A two-mile perimeter was established around the plant and Interstate 70 was shut down.

The Swiss-based ABB Group makes power transmission and industrial automation equipment. The company manufactures transformers at the St. Louis site, according to its Web site. ABB has operations in roughly 100 countries, employing about 120,000 people.

Police work at the scene of a shooting after a gunman with an assault rifle walked into the ABB Power plant and began shooting Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010, in St. Louis, the U.S.
(AP)