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Last updated on Tuesday, April 19, 2016
(SEYMOUR) - Police have a clear picture of what happened the morning of March 10 when 37-year-old Qing Chen of Seymour shot and killed his supervisor at Cummins Seymour Technical Center and then turned the gun on himself - but they still don’t know why.
According to Seymour Police Chief Bill Abbott, Chen showed up for work and 16 minutes later shot and killed 49-year-Ward R. Edwards II of Columbus. Police say Chen shot Edwards with a 9mm Glock handgun and then turned the gun on himself. The gun was recovered at the scene. Edwards was Chen's direct supervisor.
Police examined Chen's personnel file and found no issues to explain what occurred that day. They questioned Edwards' family to see if they knew of any issues between the two - there were none.
Video shows that Chen entered the technical center at 8:29 a.m. Seymour dispatchers received the first report of an active shooter on the second floor of the center, along Fourth Street, at 8:45 a.m.
Police say when they arrived employees were exiting the building after someone had pulled the fire alarm.
Police initially entered the technical center where people were still inside. They were ordered to lie on the floor with their hands up because at that time police still thought they had an active shooter inside the building.
Chief Abbott says a team of four officers went upstairs to a small meeting room and found Edwards and Chen dead. There they found the handgun and five shell casings.
Chen had 45 bullets left over after shooting himself, but police found no proof Chen intended to shoot anyone else.
Police also found three rifles in Chen's apartment on Sycamore Road, all purchased legally by Chen.
The Seymour Tribune reports that Chen, a Chinese national in the U.S. on a five-year work visa, had purchased the Glock in 2012 in Plainfield.
Police say Chen had no police record, but did find one incident about a year ago when someone reported a man walking in the Jackson-Washington State Forest east of Brownstown. Jackson County Sheriff's Department deputies responded, but Chen was not arrested.
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