An employee at a DMAX plant in Moraine, Ohio, shot his suspected love rival dead before injuring a second coworker and then turning the gun on himself, authorities say.
The shooting unfolded just before 9pm local time on Thursday at the facility where the General Motors subsidiary provides diesel engines for pickup trucks.
Moraine Police Sgt Andrew Parish said in a press conference on Friday morning that the male suspect and his victim 28-year-old Jeffrey James Allen III – who both worked at the plant – were in a “feud” over a female coworker.
“They were involved in a domestic-related feud over a female who was also an employee at the facility,” he said.
Both men and the unidentified woman were on shift at the plant that night when the two men got into an “altercation” on the operations floor.
At that point, the suspect – whose identity has not been released – pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and opened fire on Allen.
The gunman fired at least a dozen rounds – all of them believed to have been “targeted” towards his love rival.
A second victim – also a plant employee – was also struck by the gunfire but does not appear to have been involved in the altercation between the suspect and the first victim. After shooting the two victims, the gunman then turned the gun on himself.
“This appears to have been a targeted attack involving our suspect and Mr Allen,” said Sgt Parish.
“It’s very apparent that Mr Allen was the target of this assault.”
The female employee at the centre of the feud was not injured in the attack.
Officers responded to 911 calls reporting an active shooting at the facility.
On arrival, law enforcement found the suspect outside the building suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The gunman survived the shooting and was rushed to hospital.
Inside, authorities then found the two victims.
Allen was pronounced dead at the scene while the second male victim was taken to hospital for treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
The gunman – whose identity will not be released until charges are filed – is in a critical but stable condition in local hospital as of Friday morning.
Other people also sustained unrelated injuries during the evacuation and “ensuing chaos” at the plant.
The active threat was over within a few minutes, police said.
Moraine police also released a panicked 911 call made by an employee inside the plant, as she frantically tells the dispatcher there is an “active shooter” at the facility.
In a statement released following the shooting, DMAX said: “We are aware of an incident at the DMAX Moraine manufacturing facility, and are working with local authorities.
“All production operations have been suspended at this time until further notice.”
A search warrant has been executed on the suspect’s home.
Moraine Police are interviewing employees who witnessed the shooting and are working with the Tactical Crime Suppression Unit as part of the investigation.
