Woman Arrested After Allegedly Giving Kansas Shooter Assault Rifle, Pistol

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Authorities have charged a woman with aiding a man who allegedly opened fire on the central Kansas factory where he worked earlier this week.

Sarah Hopkins was arrested by authorities after allegedly supplying gunman Cedric Ford with an assault rifle and a pistol used in the attack, CBS2 reported.

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The shooting occurred Thursday afternoon at Excel Industries in Hesston. Officials said Ford shot two people while driving to Excel Industries and shot another person in the parking lot before going inside.

He said the man shot 15 others in the lawnmower parts factory, killing three of them, before a Hesston police officer shot him dead.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said Friday the sheriff's office served the suspect with a protection order at around 3:30 p.m. Thursday and that he thinks it was likely what triggered the attack, which began about 90 minutes later.

Walton said such orders are typically served "because there's some type of violence in a relationship,'' but he declined to specify the nature of the relationship in question or to disclose the attacker's name.

Walton said Ford had been in jail several times in the past, raising questions over whether or not he owned the firearms he had in his possession.