Ohio warehouse mass shooting leaves 1 dead, 5 injured; suspect arrested
Editor's Note: A second victim has now died from the shooting. Click here for the latest update on Feb. 6.
NEW ALBANY, Ohio ‒ Police arrested a suspect Wednesday morning in connection with a shooting at a warehouse in Ohio that left one person dead and injured five others in what has been described as a "targeted attack."
The New Albany Police Department said in an alert that police arrested Bruce Reginald Foster III at a home in Columbus, where authorities had executed a search warrant.
The mass shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at KDC/One, a cosmetics manufacturer located northeast of Columbus, officials said. When officers arrived, they discovered one person dead and rushed five others to nearby hospitals. The victims' conditions were unknown.
Foster has been described by police as an employee at the facility who had worked for several hours on Tuesday before he allegedly opened fire and fled the scene. New Albany Police Chief Greg Jones said the motive remains unclear, adding there were no reports of confrontations or disputes that preceded the shooting.
Roughly 150 employees were at the warehouse at the time of the shooting, said Jones. Most of them fled to a neighboring building where many of them were interviewed by law enforcement.
At the scene, investigators recovered a handgun and a team with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was assisting in tracking its history, the chief said early Wednesday.
“This is a tragedy that, to be honest with you, I never thought we’d see in our community,” he said.
Since the start of the year, there have been at least 26 mass shootings in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident with "a minimum of four victims shot, either injured or killed, not including any shooter."
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'Heartbreaking and tragic'
“This is a heartbreaking and tragic situation," Jones said in a statement.
"Our officers, alongside multiple agencies, responded swiftly to protect lives and secure the scene. We train for situations like this, and while it is something no community ever wants to face, we were prepared to act quickly and effectively. We will continue working to bring this situation to a full resolution," he added.
U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, who represents Columbus, said in a post on X that "This is a heartbreaking moment for our Central Ohio community."
"My heart goes out to the victims, their families, and everyone impacted by the shooting in New Albany," Beatty said. "I am grateful for the swift response from our first responders. No one should have to fear for their safety at work. We must continue to stand united as a community against gun violence and the toll it takes on our communities."
What is KDC/One, location of New Albany mass shooting
Knowlton Development Corporation, Inc., is a Canada-based manufacturer of beauty, personal care and home care products.
The company's headquarters is located in Longueuil, Québec, and it employs more than 15,000 people across 24 facilities around the world. KDC/One also operates 27 research-and-development labs and innovation centers.
The KDC/One facility in New Albany will be "closed for some time" as investigators search the scene for evidence, Jones said.
New Albany has a population of roughly 11,335 and is located about 15 miles northeast of the state capital of Columbus.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)