Justin L. Mack, and Madeline Buckley

IndyStar

SEYMOUR — Andrew Berrones heard screams cut through his workplace at Cummins’ Seymour plant Thursday morning. Then he heard a cry of “Outside. Let’s Go.”

The 23-year-old drafter hustled out of the building, unsure what was unfolding.

“Someone just told us to get out,” he said.

The facility was roiled in chaos after two employees were killed at the Technical Center in what police said was a murder-suicide.

Police identified the two men as Ward R. Edwards, 49, Columbus, and Qing Chen, 37, Seymour. Edwards was Chen's direct supervisor, police said, and Chen is the suspected shooter.

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IndyStar spoke with a man who answered a listed phone number for Edwards. The man said the family did not wish to speak with the media.

Both men were found dead around 8:45 a.m. Thursday by officers in room N231, located on the second floor of the Cummins Technical Center.

A large police presence flooded the area of the center and the adjacent Seymour Engine Plant, and area businesses and schools went into lockdown.

Amid the turbulence, some of the roughly 1,100 workers at the facility registered only confusion at first.

A Cummins employee said she mistook the event for a fire drill when an alarm blared shortly after she arrived for work. The employee, who didn't want to be named because of the nature of the news, thought she could easily gather up her cellphone and walk out until she was told to get out as fast as possible.

It wasn’t until she was outside that she learned what happened.

“I just want to get home to my kids,” she said.

The workplace shooting stunned the usually quiet city of 19,000 about 60 miles southeast of Indianapolis.

Residents described it as a tight-knit community with little violent crime, and a place where the influence of Cummins Inc. — the Columbus, Ind.-based maker of diesel engines — is widespread.

Greg Brewer, a Seymour resident, left a diner in the center of town, and shook his head somberly when asked about the shooting.

“This affects the whole community,” Brewer said. “Almost everyone in the community is associated with Cummins one way or another.”

Brewer described himself as growing up on “Cummins money,” as his father and generations before worked with Cummins in some capacity.

Police have released few details about the circumstances, and motive, behind the shooting. A 9mm Glock handgun was recovered at the scene, police said, and search warrants have been served on both Edwards' and Chen's vehicles. A warrant also is being served on Chen's apartment in Seymour. Autopsies for both men are scheduled for Friday morning in Louisville.

"The background investigation will be continuing with the full cooperation of Cummins and their employees," said Seymour police in a statement. "We want to thank all of the Cummins employees for their assistance in this case, as well as several law enforcement agencies."

In some instances of workplace violence, the aggressor often feels he or she has been wronged, said W. Barry Nixon, executive director of the National Institute for the Prevention of Workplace Violence. That injustice is usually only in the mind of the employee who acts out, he said.

“Each case is different because you’re dealing with an individual human being,” Nixon said. “There are some common denominators that cut across, though. One of the core things tends to be a perceived injustice.

“Again, I put an emphasis on perceived, because it’s obviously in the eye of beholder.”

The most common types of workplace violence involve a threat or physical assault, Nixon said. Instances of homicide or murder-suicide aren’t as common.

Residents of the neighborhood surrounding the plant recalled moments of fear and confusion as they saw dozens of police cars rushing to the area.

“There were people fleeing,” said Monica Henry, who lives across the street from the plant. “It grabs you by the heart. It’s really sad, so close to home.”

At least five employees ran into a nearby convenience store after the shooting, employees there said. They stood in the back, and got on their cellphones to make calls.

“It was scary,” said Kathleen Green, an employee at the store. “It’s just upsetting, you know?”

Police secured the scene by 9:30 a.m. Hours later, police cars still lined the street in front of the plant, with investigators entering and leaving the building. A fully-equipped SWAT team marched out of the building, and police towed a maroon Toyota from the parking lot.

Employees left in droves around noon, many shielded from pelting rain with umbrellas. The plant will be closed Friday.

David Burton, a machinist for Cummins, walked to his car after waiting inside the plant for several hours. He left the building after the shooting.

“They just said there were gunshots,” he said.

Eventually they were cleared to return, where groups of employees waited as police began investigating.

For hours, they waited inside, he said, where it was quiet.

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IndyStar reporter Kris Turner contributed to this story. Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack. Call IndyStar reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter: @Mabuckley88.