CLAYCOMO, Mo. — Police confirmed to FOX 4 Thursday morning that one person is dead following a shooting outside of the Claycomo Ford plant.
According to police a man was shot dead in the employee parking lot of the car plant shortly after 4 a.m.
A witness told FOX 4 she saw the shooter get into a green Jeep Cherokee following the shooting and speed away from the scene. The witness also said she saw the shooter pull the trigger twice.
Co-workers tried to stop the bleeding, but the man ended up dying before paramedics could arrive.
Some of the employees described the victim as a hard-working, good guy who worked in the Chassis line and was also a new dad.
Claycomo police, Pleasant Valley police and Clay County Sheriff’s Deputies were all on the scene. They say the gunman targeted the victim individually, but the motive for the shooting is still under investigation. There were a lot of witnesses, and Ford has surveillance cameras in the parking lot, so investigators are confident they will catch the gunman.
“We have multiple solid leads to follow, and we’re going to follow them, and we will get this person responsible for it,” said Captain Will Aiken with the Clay County Sheriff’s Department.
Ford said they were operating normal Thursday. Day shift employees were not allowed to park in the lot where the shooting happened because investigators were still on the scene.
Police have not yet released a suspect description and there is no indication of whether the suspected shooter was a Ford employee.
Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS.
“Our hearts go out to the family and any of our employees that may have witnessed this horrible incident, and we are going to be here for them for they for whatever they need or whatever we can do to help them get through this tragic situation,” UAW Local 249 spokesperson Todd Hillyard said.
