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Mass Shooting in Goshen, Indiana Factory

Aired December 06, 2001 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: We want to bring our viewers the very latest the information as we're getting it. And again, we want to bring you up to date right now. We've got a picture from WNDU in South Bend, Indiana. This is a live picture from their helicopter position.

They are in Goshen -- or over Goshen, Indiana, at an industrial park, in Goshen, Indiana, where there has been reportedly been a mass shooting.

Now, the details on this are very, very sketchy at this point. The local general hospital, the Goshen General Hospital reporting to local television that they have received three victims.

But as you see at the industrial park itself, there is just a line-up of ambulances and we are told by authorities in Goshen, Indiana, that the gunman is still reported to be on the loose. They have not tracked down where the gunman is to this moment.

Now, this may be even more disturbing. The local mayor in Goshen, Indiana, as well the local police, have told CNN that they have heard as many as 35 people have been shot. That is why you see so many ambulances lined up. CNN continuing to watch. Let's listen now to the coverage from to WNDU in South Bend, Indiana.

CINNE' SIMPSON, WNDU CORRESPONDENT: The ambulance is on the scene prepared in the event that some people do start to come out. And We can imagine they are prepared to take them to a nearby hospital.

MAUREEN MCFADDEN, WNDU ANCHOR: OK. Cinne', if I can cut in out in, we just found out -- we just got a call from the vice president of Goshen hospital with at least some good news for now. Right now, they have no fatalities to report in this incident. So we can pass along that at least good bit of news for now. And hope it stays that way.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU CORRESPONDENT: And -- and Maureen, the latest information we had is that of the 35 victims, three were at the hospital. That may have changed since we first reported that. There may be more victims at the hospital but this is certainly encouraging news that those who have been taken to Goshen general are in fact very much alive, but wounded at this point.

Again, you are looking live at the parking lot of Nu-Wood products in Goshen, Indiana, southern Elkhart (ph) County where Mayor Allan Kauffman has told News Center 16 that 30, perhaps as many as 35 people, have been shot inside that factory which makes wood polymer products for the RV industry.

And we -- as you can see right there, police, S.W.A.T. team members and ambulances gathering and we can assume at some point going to be going inside to find out exactly what they have in there.

MCFADDEN: Again, and you can see the picture here. Several ambulances there. Again, one of our callers about 10, 15 minutes ago was at a major intersection. Said he had seen no less than 50 different emergency vehicles responding to this apparent shooting at Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork in Goshen.

Again, the vice president of Goshen Hospital has told us just recently that of the people taken to the hospital, there have been no fatalities for -- so a bit of encouraging news on that front. But what we don't know is what's going on inside that building.

MCFADDEN: And -- and what we don't know, Maureen, is how many people may have been involved in the shooting. The first report was that it was a lone shooter. Now we are being told there is no word on where the shooter -- or shooters -- may be.

We are joined now by Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman. Mayor, can you bring us up to speed, sir? Mayor Kauffman? Mayor Kauffman? This is Terry and Maureen McFadden at News Center 16. Can you bring us up to speed as to what...

MCFADDEN: Sounds like we might have just lost him. Well, Mayor Kauffman, if you are hearing us, please give us a call back so that we can find out what you've learned about what's going on at Nu-Wood Millwork Goshen. It sounds like we've got Cinne' Simpson there. Cinne', do you have something new?

SIMPSON: Well, no. I just want to tell you that north and south on what appears to be Main Street traffic is awfully blocked -- backed up back here, as you can see. Traffic appears to be extending well over a mile, all the way up to Goshen College. It's absolutely bumper-to-bumper as police officers are slowly letting people start to pass. There is no passage whatsoever...

CHEN: OK. To bring our viewers up to date here on CNN, what you are seeing. This is coverage from WNDU in South Bend, Indiana. And what they are reporting on by helicopter from over the scene in Goshen, Indiana, is a report of a mass shooting.

They are at an industrial park at a factory. It's been described as the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory. This produced some sort of wood products for the RV industry.

The early reports from the mayor of the city of Goshen as well as from the police to CNN that as many as 35 people may have been shot inside this industrial complex.

Now the local hospital, Goshen Hospital, reports that they have received three victims that they are treating now. They have no reports of fatalities to this point. But the big worry, the big concern right now is that the gunman is still reported to be on the loose. And with 35 potential victims already, there is great deal of concern there in Goshen, Indiana.

This is in the northern part of Indiana, very close to South Bend, Indiana, in the northern part of the state. And the folks there, small community, watching very closely the development here.

We have just heard from a local news reporter that there is already traffic backed up there in Goshen, Indiana, on this afternoon as the investigation goes on.

Now, again, the big concern right now: gunman is still reported to be on the loose. And there also seems to be some confusion. The early reports, according to the local television station, said that there was one gunman on the loose. But later information from that television station was that there may be others. Still looking for the shooter or shooters involved in this.

Again, CNN is following up on here in Goshen, Indiana, the reports of a mass shooting. The best information we have from the mayor and the local police there is that they heard as many as 35 people have been shot at an industrial park inside a factory called the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwood (sic) factory in this industrial park in Goshen, Indiana. 35 victims -- as many as 35 victims reported to be shot, according to the mayor of that city.

The local hospital saying that they have received three injured people. No report on their condition yet. But the local hospital says, though, they have not received any fatalities so far and they are continuing to watch the developments on that.

CNN continuing to follow up here. We will bring you the latest developments from here as soon as we get them. We will continue here -- or will continue to watch on what we are looking at here. This is the industrial park. We are also going to note to you that you are seeing lined up -- although the picture is quite wobbly from the helicopter of WNDU -- a number of emergency vehicles.

The local television station said that at least 50 emergency vehicles have shown up on the scene. You see the lineup of ambulances. And of course you can understand that when you are looking at this tape.

We had just received a report that the mayor and the local police in Goshen, Indiana, that said to CNN that they have heard as many as 35 people had been shot. And so therefore you understand the number of emergency vehicles that are lined up.

As well you see the number of police cars. That is because the gunman -- or gunmen, if that is the case -- are still reported to be on the loose. They have not caught a suspect yet in this. And they are still continuing to investigate the scene.

Now we are looking at a live picture. A little bit set further back than the pictures we were just looking at of this industrial park in northern Indiana.

Again, it is Goshen, Indiana in the northern part of the state. Not far from South Bend, Indiana. Really not all that far from Chicago, in the northern part of Indiana as well.

The Goshen General Hospital had reported to local television that they had received three victims in the shooting attack. However, they did not report the conditions of these people. They also told the local -- the local reporters that they had not received any fatalities as to this point.

Still, there are these reports that we're getting that the mayor of that city has said and has said to CNN that as many as 35 people -- he has heard -- have been shot. And with the gunman still on the loose, there is great deal of concern about that.

The mayor told CNN a few moments ago that he has heard not only that as many as 35 people had been shot but that the scene is still unsecure, in his words. That is because right now they still do not have a suspect or suspects in custody in this case.

It is a industrial park situation we are looking at. You are looking at live pictures, again, from the scene and a number of police vehicles. Not sure where they have all come from, but we heard from a local television station as many as 50 vehicles are on the scene now.

We want to take another listen to WNDU from South Bend, Indiana, and their live coverage now. Let's listen here.

MCFADDEN: One of the battalion chiefs from the Goshen Fire Department as far as he knows -- and this was confirmed by a young man, Dan, who called in, that at least one person was brought in in a pickup truck to Goshen hospital.

Do we have you back, Chief?

CHIEF: Hello.

MCFADDEN: OK. You're near the TV now.

CHIEF: Yeah. I can see it, but I can't tell by -- I can't -- I don't recognize from the roofs where you are at, truthfully.

MCFADDEN: OK. Well, it's a little different from the sky than it is from the ground, certainly.

OK. Any new traffic? Or anything new...

CHIEF: No, actually. The radios have been really silent right now. I think they're basically waiting right now for a police clearing so they can go in and do what they need to do.

MCFADDEN: OK. And what we are seeing now are police cars blocking the roads.

CHIEF: OK. MCFADDEN: Are you able to see what we are seeing?

CHIEF: Yeah. Pointing out to some of it. It's the old -- it's close to the old Goshen (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Building. It must be out on 38.

MCFADDEN: OK.

MCFADDEN: Now, is Nu-Wood on 38?

CHIEF: Nu-Wood I think is off 27.

MCFADDEN: It's on Industrial Park Drive, according to...

CHIEF: Right, off of -- I think that's off of 38 and 20.

MCFADDEN: How is it from the college, Chief?

CHIEF: The college? It would be -- I don't know, half, three quarters of a mile, anyhow.

MCFADDEN: Not too far.

MCFADDEN: Do you know has -- has the college or any nearby schools or businesses put on lockdown?

CHIEF: Not that I know of. I think they've pretty well got the industrial park closed off. I'm guessing by where the police (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are staging, closing off traffic going in and out.

MCFADDEN: And Chief, have -- did you hear any traffic about possible suspect or suspects from all of this? Or are you mainly hearing the medical end of the traffic?

CHIEF: I'm just hearing the -- our frequency. None of the police frequencies. But if there was something, I'm sure there would have been something mentioned. But I have not heard anything to that -- that anything has been arrested or apprehended or anything.

MCFADDEN: All right, Chief. Welll, thanks very much for joining us. And please kind of stay with us if you can, nearby. Give us a call if you hear anything new to update us on what might be happening here.

CHIEF: All righty.

MCFADDEN: Thank you.

MCFADDEN: Thank you, Chief.

MCFADDEN: Well, here is what we can tell you, that we have reports that there was first a lone shooter, then weren't too sure, at Nu-Wood Decorative Millworks in Goshen, which is on Industrial Drive. At one point we had been told that there could be up to 35 people involved. Correct, Terry? MCFADDEN: That's right. And that came straight from the mayor's office. From the mayor's mouth, in fact, Allan Kauffman. 35 -- as many as 35 people have been shot.

Three, we were told, taken to Goshen hospital. None of the three taken to Goshen hospital had expired. They were wounded, but as far as we know they were alive -- which is a glimmer of good news in what is an incredibly terrible story developing.

MCFADDEN: And according to the Associated Press, we have learned that a police dispatcher who was contacted actually by CNN has described this as a major...

CHEN: All right. CNN breaking in now on the live coverage you have been seeing from WNDU in South Bend, Indiana. We want to get now the latest information from the mayor of Goshen, Indiana. That is Mayor Allan Kauffman. He's on the telephone line with us. Mayor, can you first tell me where you are? Are you at the scene?

ALLAN KAUFFMAN, MAYOR, GOSHEN, INDIANA: Oh, no. I can't get anywhere close to the scene because the traffic's too backed up.

CHEN: All right...

KAUFMAN: I'm trapped in the office talking to you folks.

CHEN: Just wanted to clarify that. Now, the information I heard earlier is that you believe -- you have heard as many as 35. Can you update that at all?

KAUFFMAN: That is what I just heard about 15 minutes ago from one of our assistant police chiefs at the scene.

CHEN: That as many as 35 have been injured. Do you know if there are any fatalities? Have any been reported there?

KAUFFMAN: I do not know that at this point.

CHEN: What can you tell us about this park itself and the facility, this Nu-Wood -- Nu-Wood woodwork facility?

KAUFFMAN: Well, I can't confirm that it's new wood. What I can tell you about the industrial park is that it's the major manufacturing area of our community. Almost all of the facilities out there make some product of some kind. Nu-Wood makes architectural elements for the construction industry. Manufacturing plant.

CHEN: Do you know anything about how many people are employed there?

KAUFFMAN: I do not know that.

CHEN: All right. We do want to let our viewers know that the latest information we are getting from the Associated Press says that the suspect, the gunman may in fact be a former employee of this particular factory. Again, that report coming from the Associated Press. Mayor, had you heard that?

KAUFFMAN: No, but that often is the case in something like this. Although we haven't -- we don't typically have these incidents in Goshen.

CHEN: I can certainly imagine. You do not typically have these incidents anywhere. Can you tell us about how the information first came to you and what you heard?

KAUFFMAN: The first word that I got was from our fire chief who was headed to the scene and said they had a major incident in the industrial park and he had heard that as many as 35 could have been shot and that at the point he talked to me, they weren't even letting our ambulances in because the area was still unsecured and they didn't know if the gunman or gunmen or people were still there.

CHEN: Mayor Allan Kauffman of the city of Goshen, Indiana. Again, very disturbing news from that small city, a town of about 29,000 people. A hundred miles west of Chicago, the northern part of Indiana.

Reports there of a mass shooting. The mayor telling us that he has heard as many as 35 people may have been shot at a facility. It has been reported to be a Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory. Occuring about 2:30 this afternoon, eastern time. This is the information that we are getting.

Unfortunately, the word right now is that this facility is still an unsecured area. They have not so far been able to track down a suspect on this. Three people reportedly taken to the local hospital with injuries. No fatalities have been reported to this point.

But we are continuing to watch there. And as you see, there have been a number of emergency vehicles from the local -- local television showing up that there have been some 50 emergency vehicles responding to the scene, following up on this report of mass shootings there. And as many as 35 people being injured.

We had heard from the local television just a few moments ago that they had not even let the emergency workers in because of their concern that they hadn't gotten the suspect yet. We'll continue to watch from the CNN newsroom. Now let's move up to Judy in Washington.

(INTURRUPTED FOR CNN COVERAGE OF A LIVE EVENT)

CHEN: All right, Judy. We do want to bring our viewers up to date. They have been watching this afternoon here on CNN the latest developments on a story that's less than an hour and a half old.

In Goshen, Indiana -- that's in the northern part of the state -- reports of a mass shooting at a factory in an industrial park. The local mayor telling us just a few moments ago it's the biggest employer in his community of about 30,000 people there in northern Indiana.

The information remains very sketchy at this point, but it is reportedly at the Nu-Wood woodworking factory, as you see there shown in the map from the local television station. In this industrial park complex there have been reports -- according to the mayor, he was told that as many as 35 people may have been shot. And the gunman -- or gunmen, if that is the case -- are still reported to be on the loose.

Now, three people were taken to a local hospital there, but there have been no reports of fatalities to this point. The only information we have on injuries is from Goshen General Hospital, reporting three victims have been brought. But they are on standby.

You see in these live pictures from the scene brought to us by WNDU of South Bend, Indiana, TV station the number of ambulances lined up -- and other emergency vehicles -- lined up there, because we are receiving news reports that as many as 35 people maybe shot or injured inside of this factory.

So the other reports we are getting from the Associated Press is that the suspect -- who again, has not at this point been taken into custody -- may be a former employee of the Nu-Wood millwood factory. Let's go out and listen in to WNDU there in South Bend, Indiana, from Goshen, Indiana, reporting.

JUSTIN LEIGHEY, WNDU CORRESPONDENT: ...volatile situation. The paramedics haven't been able to get close to the building yet.

MCFADDEN: Justin, do you know anything more about the gunman? Is it a single gunman? Do we know if it's a disgruntled employee? That's what we're hearing from the AP.

LEIGHEY: Those are the only reports we've heard so far. Police haven't said anything about, you know, any other accomplices, any other gunmen. They believe -- they are operating from the assumption right now that there is one working inside the building someplace.

MCFADDEN: OK. And -- and how much trouble did you get the staging area?

LEIGHEY: Quite a bit. Traffice has been closed down here. Kircher (ph) Road's a fairly busy road on the south side of Goshen and it runs right parallel to the industrial park. Police have completely shut that down and are bringing a in lot of police traffic, firefighters, ambulances. So traffic is pretty heavy here. And...

MCFADDEN: And Justin -- Justin, you are saying that concerned family members should go to Goshen High School?

LEIGHEY: That's correct.

MCFADDEN: And that is located where?

LEIGHEY: I'm sorry?

MCFADDEN: In -- for a point of information, where is Goshen High School located?

LEIGHEY: Goshen High School is on U.S. 33 -- or Madison Street -- just east of downtown Goshen.

MCFADDEN: Right. And that's -- and that's -- I believe it's west of the fairgrounds as well, right?

LEIGHEY: That's correct.

MCFADDEN: OK. Justin Leighey, thank you very much.

MCFADDEN: He is right at the scene, right near the police command center, so obviously going to be getting some information very quickly, we hope.

We can tell you that Virginia Forgey (ph), the marketing assistant at Goshen General Hospital says that hospital is on alert and they are preparing to receive multiple victims. So I would imagine that getting some of that information from the people already brought in.

And again, as Justin said, apparently this shooter is still inside the building. S.W.A.T. teams are being mobilized from all over the and -- and taken to Nu-Wood products. This again a live shot from News Chopper 16. This all broke out, what, about an hour ago, Terry?

MCFADDEN: I believe it was around 2:30. Or it could have been -- yeah, I'm almost certain it was around 2:30 that this broke out. So about an hour and half ago that an apparent -- and again, we emphasize apparent, because the information is coming from many sources at this point and none has been confirmed by police -- that a disgruntled employee, perhaps, shot as many as 35 people inside Nu- Wood.

We're calling it Nu-Wood products but it's actually known as Nu- Wood Decorative Mill -- Millwork in the Goshen industrial park on the south side of Goshen.

We are aware of three people who are at the hospital, who are alive, but have been wounded. The fate of others inside, including the gunman, not known at this point.

There is a staging area that has been set up in what we are told is the old NIBCO building, which is about a half mile -- I believe he said about a half mile away from Nu-Wood products and that -- that is where the command center and the staging the area will be for what we assume will be some type of entrance into the shooting scene.

CHEN: All right. Again, CNN continuing to watch coverage from WNDU in South Bend, Indiana. Getting the latest information on what is reported to be a mass shooting there in Goshen, Indiana, at a factory, the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory at an industrial park in Goshen, Indiana.

On the telephone line with us now from the Indiana State Police, Senior Trooper Brothy is on the line with us. Sir, can you give us whatever late information you have?

SENIOR TROOPER ROBERT BROTHY, INDIANA STATE POLICE: The only information that we have is that there was a shooting at Nu-Wood industries over in Goshen. Approximately 30-plus people were involved.

CHEN: 30-plus people, you have been told?

BROTHY: That is correct.

CHEN: And has -- have there been any reports of anyone being killed?

BROTHY: We don't have any reports of that yet. We are still in a staging area and our S.W.A.T. ERT teams are coming in from around the state.

CHEN: So you're bringing your S.W.A.T. folks in to help out there in Goshen?

BROTHY: That's correct.

CHEN: Now, the information you have now is that the suspect is still at large?

BROTHY: That's correct.

CHEN: And is there any information you have about his identity?

BROTHY: No, we don't have any idea. We don't know who these suspects is at this time.

CHEN: There is a bit of confusion, Trooper Brothy, because there had been earlier reports that it was one suspect. One lone shooter. Then there was some information that might be more. Do you have any information that it could be more than one shooter?

BROTHY: No. The only information that we do have is that it was -- we believe there was one shooter.

CHEN: Can you give us information about what time you received the information that this all began?

BROTHY: We received it at 15:14 hours.

CHEN: 15:14. That would be 13:14 -- 3:14 in non-military time, I guess.

BROTHY: Correct.

CHEN: And -- and the first reports were of a shooting inside? Do the local officers have access to the building? Are they able to get inside at this point?

BROTHY: We don't believe we have had any entry to the building at this time. We are still in our staging area.

CHEN: So even the local police have not -- have not gone in.

BROTHY: Correct.

CHEN: And we have seen a number of emergency vehicles there. Are those mostly Goshen police, or have your folks already arrived on the scene?

BROTHY: We have -- we have units from the Indiana State Police out of the -- out of the districts in that area arrived on the scene.

CHEN: Again, to our viewers, the reports are -- in fact, the mayor of the city of Goshen has told us that he has heard as many as 35 victims.

BROTHY: That is correct. We have heard that also.

CHEN: Yeah. And as Trooper Brothy saying, 30-plus here is the report that the Indiana State Troopers are getting on this information out at Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork there in Goshen...

BROTHY: All the local hospitals are on emergency standby right now because of the amount of people hurt, that we have heard.

CHEN: Now, we have only received reports of three people being transported. Do you know if there have been additional transports?

BROTHY: No, we do not.

CHEN: And has anything been reported on the nature of injuries?

BROTHY: No, we have not.

CHEN: All right. Again, just to update our viewers who might be coming into this at the top of the hour here. Just to fill you in on what we are getting from Trooper Brothy as well as from the mayor whom we talked to just a few minutes ago and local television out there in South Bend, Indiana.

Goshen, Indiana is the scene that you are watching now. A factory, the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory there in Goshen in an industrial park there. Reports of a mass shooting. As many as 35 victims. The trooper is telling us 30-plus is what the state troopers have been told. That there is a significant staging area and they are bringing the S.W.A.T.s -- S.W.A.T teams from around the state of Indiana to help out at this particular place.

Not a big community. About 30,000 people live in Goshen, Indiana. And right now, according to Trooper Brothy, there is no indication that the local authorities even have been able to move into the building to assess the level of injury and find out where the suspect, the gunman is in this.

The information we are told is that the suspect is still at large. The gunman is still at large and that is the reason for such great concern there.

Also, we are getting reports from the Associated Press that the local sheriff's captain, Julie Dykstra (ph) saying that there were no fatalities immediately reported. She said that a former employee of the factory was believed to be responsible, and that the gunman may still be in the building, according to this report we are getting from the Associated Press.

Also received information from the local Mayor, Allan Kauffman, saying that the area is not secured, underlining what the local sheriff's captain was saying.

The area is not secured. They don't know if the shooter is still inside or not and therefore are not able to help other people who might be injured inside.

But again, the early reports that we had just confirmed by Trooper Brothy as well as the information we are receiving from the mayor and others is that more than 30, as many as 35 people may have been shot in this. So far, there is no confirmed report of any fatalities inside the new word -- Nu-Wood Decorative millwood -- Millwork factory.

This is a factory that apparently makes fake wood, wood polymer products for the RV industry. So you are going to see some other vehicles as well outside of this factory. And we have received reports from a local television station that as many as 50 emergency vehicles have lined up there to help in the treatment of anyone injured inside that they were able to able to bring out.

But we have just heard from Trooper Brothy is that at this point the emergency folks have not even been able to move in on the building, even though they are bringing S.W.A.T. teams in from around the state to help out in the situation in Goshen, Indiana, because they don't have a suspect in custody yet.

At this point, nobody has able -- been able to move into the building and find out exactly what the situation is inside because they are concerned about what's going on and whether the situation is secure enough even for authorities to be able to move in.

Again, from Goshen General Hospital we have been told that three victims have been brought to that local hospital in Goshen. But -- and three people were being treated there, but they were standing by. And, as well, Trooper Brothy telling us that other hospitals in that area have been standing by, trying to make sure that they are ready if there are further injuries, as well, to be able to bring those in and be able to treat them immediately. And they are in a high state of alert and prepared, in any case, to receive multiple victims in that case.

Again, it's the top of the hour, so we want to update our viewers on the very latest information we're getting from Goshen, Indiana. You're seeing live pictures on TV right now that we're getting from WNDU-TV. it is at an industrial park. The Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory is the name of the facility.

There are reports -- The Associated Press quoting the local sheriff's captain, saying that a former employee of the factory may be responsible for the mass shooting. From various authorities, we have been told that more than 30 people, and as many as 35 may be victims -- may have been shot in the course of this attack there at the factory.

And at this hour, the gunman is still at large. They do not have anyone in custody.

Want to take a moment now to listen to local television, WNDU now, reporting from South Bend, Indiana on the situation in their area -- at Goshen, Indiana, mass shooting there.

Let's listen to the local television.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: ... still the case?

BOB DUELL, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT, GOSHEN SCHOOLS: I do not know if that's the case. That would not surprise me, because they have students that would be driving away, and they would need to -- there wouldn't be a lock-down for safety purposes. It would be a lock-down to keep the students -- it is my guess, it would be to keep the students in the school, and not be away.

We went into a temporary lock-down just to make sure we had all students that we needed to have in the place -- of course, it's a lot easier with an elementary school. And I'm sure they were just trying to make sure they had all of the students that might be -- have to drive through, or go through, or be in the area.

So I do not know if they're still under lock-down or not.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: All right, Bob Duell, assistant superintendent of Goshen schools. Thanks for joining us and giving us some new information.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: And now we are joined by Donna Rohrer, who is a spokesperson for Goshen Hospital.

Donna, are you on the phone?

DONNA ROHRER, GOSHEN HOSPITAL SPOKESPERSON: Yes, I am.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: Donna, what can you tell us?

ROHRER: Right now we have received three individuals in our emergency room who are currently being evaluated. And one individual has been air-lifted in addition to those three, two Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. We do not have condition reports at this time. We do anticipate, based on reports coming into the organization, that we could see as many as 30 to 35 additional people coming in.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: OK, and you said you had one person air-lifted to Parkview in Fort Wayne. Was that one of the three, or is that one in addition to the three?

ROHRER: That was one in addition to the three.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: So four people have been brought in? ROHRER: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: Of the three being evaluated, and the person air-lifted, we can make the assumption they had all suffered some type of gunshot wounds?

ROHRER: I don't have information on exactly what their wounds entail. I do know that our reports are that there has been a shooting in the area.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: All right, Donna, thank you very much.

We're joined now by Wes Graff. He's with the chamber of commerce over there.

Wes, I guess, what can you tell us about this company, and what do you know about what's going on?

WES GRAFF, GOSHEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: I know about as much as everybody else does right now.

They make urethane -- they're a millwork and molded urethane high-density foam. They were a company that was formerly owned by a large employer here, Goshen Rubber, which was sold a couple years ago. And this company was actually sold prior to the sale of that company.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: Do you know how owns this, and how large a company it is?

GRAFF: No we do not, at this time, know who owns the company. We're attempting to ascertain that.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: OK...

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: Wes, do you know how many were employed there?

GRAFF: I showed -- back in 1999 our records have 60 employees working there.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: And do you know how many shifts they run?

GRAFF: No, I do not.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: All right. So it's been up and running. Goshen -- previously Goshen Rubber, is that what you said?

GRAFF: No, no; it was owned previously by Goshen Rubber and sold then. The company was actually established in 1989. And the last records we have in 1999, they had between $2.5 million and $5 million in sales.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: OK, and the 1999 numbers of the 60 employees, do you know if those numbers have changed at all?

GRAFF: No, I don't. Those are the last records I have.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: ... downsizing. So as far as you know, the only numbers you have to go on are the 60 employees back from 1999?

GRAFF: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: OK, Wes Graff from the chamber of commerce, thank you very much for joining us.

GRAFF: Thank you.

CHEN: CNN listening to coverage from WNDU. That is our affiliate at South Bend, Indiana.

In a nearby community, Goshen, Indiana, you see there on the map of the scene. And these are live pictures, again, of the scene in Goshen, Indiana. Actually, this is tape from a short time ago. This is a helicopter view of the industrial park where a mass shooting has been reported.

Now, the late (sic) information we just heard on local station WNDU in South Bend, Indiana. They were talking to a local hospital spokeswoman who said that three people were being treated at the local hospital. She could not describe the extent or nature of their injuries. And that one additional victim had been air-lifted to a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Also could not tell us anything about the nature or condition of that individual's injuries.

But in addition, the local hospital spokesman had just been told that as many as 30 to 35 additional victims may come in. And so that hospital has been placed on standby. there's a possibility of 30 to 35 additional injuries coming in from this factory scene.

The reports we are getting is (sic) that about 3:15 this afternoon, according to state troopers -- they receiving the first information of a shooting at this facility. Some of the reports tell us, though, that it was somewhat earlier than that -- maybe a good 45 minutes before the state troopers report. For some reason, there seems to be some confusion there.

But in any case, reports of a mass shooting. Again, now, this is a live picture, to inform our viewers -- a live picture from Goshen, Indiana of the scene there. You see that a number of people are lined up outside. Reports of as many as 35 people, according the mayor of Goshen, Indiana, may have been shot inside.

The Associated Press is reporting this afternoon that the suspected gunman -- who, by the way, is still at large at this hour -- may be a former employee of this particular factory. That has not been confirmed. And they have not been able to bring that shooter into custody at this point. They're watching very closely for developments on that front, and moving with a great deal of caution.

We had heard from a state trooper in Indiana that they have not even been able to move into the building. They are assembling SWAT teams from all across the state of Indiana, and moving them very quickly -- posthaste -- to Goshen, Indiana to help out with the situation. But so far, the trooper had told us they had not even been able to move in because they had not been able to secure the facility, make sure it was safe, even for authorities to move in. They suspect that the gunman may still be inside the building, according a local sheriff's captain.

To give you some idea of the picture at the scene, we get a report from The Associated Press, who had spoken to someone who runs a company very close to the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwood (sic) factory. The quote from that person, Roy Bopane (ph), is: "There are cops on the roof of a building east of Nu-Wood, and the ally is filled with cops with their guns drawn." Again, a very, very tense situation for this community.

It's a community of about 29,000 people. It's in northern Indiana -- about 100 miles east of Chicago. The northern part of the state, not far from South Bend, Indiana.

But the only reports we have about injuries are the three victims that Goshen General Hospital says they are treating. Again, not reporting their condition. In addition, one person air-lifted to a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And the local hospital then told to be on standby for the possibility of an additional 30 to 35 people who may come in needing treatment.

But the most important thing is that the gunman is still, at this hour, on the loose. They have not been able to move in and bring a suspect into custody.

There also have been some question -- in fact, the mayor had said he could not ascertain whether there might be more than one gunman involved, although the early reports were that it was a lone shooter at this particular facility.

And The Associated Press quoting a local sheriff's captain, says that the gunman may be a former employee of the Nu-Wood simulated wood factory.

A trooper -- Senior Trooper Brothy now rejoins us on the telephone line.

Sir, can you give us any additional information that you have, and bearing in mind that some of our viewers are just joining us and haven't heard as much of all this -- may not be up to date. What can you give us in terms of information you guys have right now?

BROTHY: We don't have any additional information. We're still in the staging process with several of our SWAT units arriving at the scene, as well as state police helicopters circling around the area.

We know there was a shooting at one of the corporations -- Nu- Wood woodworking corporation over there.

CHEN: Can you tell me why you have helicopters circling...

BROTHY: Well, we're looking for possible suspects and trying to secure the area.

CHEN: OK, and then you were bringing in SWAT teams. From what distance do they have to come, or where do you bring them in from , to this location?

BROTHY: We're bringing them all in from the northern part of the state, all the way from Lowell, which is approximately 70 miles from Fort Wayne, which is about 65 miles.

CHEN: And under such circumstances, do you move -- I mean, do you allow the local authorities to move in as they see fit, or do you wait -- and who takes command there?

BROTHY: Whoever are the first officers at the scene usually have command. And then usually we have a meeting and set up an operation plan. What we want to do is secure, so we can go and look for wounded.

CHEN: By secure -- secure to the point that you're not hearing any additional shots fired?

BROTHY: Well, we just want to make it safe for the officers to be able to go in and try and help out the wounded.

CHEN: All right, we want to listen again, Trooper Brothy, to the local TV station, WNDU and the latest reports they're getting. We'll be back to you shortly. Thank you sir.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JAY HERMACINSKI, WNDU REPORTER: ... in the staging area, lined up, ready to move in. i think what they're waiting for is the safe signal, so they can get those ambulances in there and begin their triage right there at the business.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: Jay, did Mike Leeser (ph) give any indication whether or not they think the gunman is still inside the business?

HERMACINSKI: No, he did not. And he did say that he had just arrived here on the scene, and he had limited information. So he was not be able to get into any specifics, Terry (ph). He just said that the SWAT team and police members were moving towards the business to search for that gunman.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: OK, again, Jay, you said you're, what, about a quarter of a mile from there?

HERMACINSKI: That's correct.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: What can you see? Can you see all that ambulance activity?

HERMACINSKI: All we can see -- the ambulances right now, Mo (ph), they're just on standby. They're in a Nipsco (ph) parking lot. They're all lined up, ready to go -- ambulances from Wakarusa, Goshen. On the way down here, we saw a South Bend ambulance heading in this direction.

They're all here in the staging area, standing by, ready to move in when they're given the signal. But right now, they're in a wait mode.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: All right, Jay Hermacinski you're hearing onto the phone.

And again, this incident happened almost two hours ago, around 2:30. And I would imagine that the police, the SWAT team, everybody involved wants to get inside that building as quickly as possible, because if we have multiple -- people with multiple gunshot wounds, the loss of blood is critical. And they've got to get in there as quickly as they can.

Having said all that, they also don't want to put further people at risk as well, which is probably why they're taking the armored vehicle in.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: Right. Jay, can you still hear us?

HERMACINSKI: Yes, I can Mo (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ACTOR: Now, you said they held a brief press conference. Did they allow you to ask them any questions?

HERMACINSKI: We were able to ask basic questions. You know, we were interested to know, do they have any idea of how many people have been killed? The answer to that, right now they don't know how many people.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: If any.

HERMACINSKI: We also wanted to know if any other businesses in the industrial park were in danger. All he was able to say is that they're trying to evacuate that area and, you know, obviously keep the number of people down that are around the Nu-Wood business.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: All right. And Jay, there have been no -- according to the police, there have been no other reports of shootings, or hostage situations, or anything like that other than at Nu-Wood?

HERMACINSKI: No, we have not heard any other, except at the Nu- Wood products business.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: OK. Hey, Jay, the -- Julie Dykstra (ph), with the Elkhart County Police, had said, according to The Associated Press, that they believe this might have been a disgruntled employee. Did the police at the conference say anything about that? HERMACINSKI: They did not. Right now we don't have any information on that, Mo (ph). Unfortunately, Mike Leeser, as you said, he had just turned up. And he was the one that had to face the media here; and so his information was limited, at best.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: And Mike Leeser is an assistant to Mayor Allan Kauffman -- is that correct?

HERMACINSKI: That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: OK. Jay Hermacinski, hang on the line. I'm sure we'll be going back to you.

So again, we want to recap what's going on. We are told that -- by the mayor's office -- Allan Kauffman's office -- that as many as 35 people were shot at Nu-Wood. That is in the southern part of Goshen, in the Goshen Industrial Park.

We had it confirmed from Donna Rohrer of Goshen General Hospital that four people -- four victims were brought in. She would not even confirm whether or not they had been shot. But obviously she was calling us because of this incident. One person had been air-lifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. Another three were being evaluated at Goshen Hospital.

And if I can make an -- you know, an unscientific guess is that the three people who are being evaluated may not have life-threatening injuries. Otherwise they may have been air-lifted as well.

But at least one person was serious enough that they were air- lifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: And it begs the question...

CHEN: All right, CNN getting in on the coverage there. You're watching the pictures from WNDU -- that is our affiliate at South Bend, Indiana -- of the events in Goshen, Indiana at an industrial park there.

You heard the local anchors report the latest information is still standing at as many as 35 people having been victims of this mass shooting at the industrial park. It is the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwood (sic) factory in the industrial park in Goshen, Indiana. The mayor telling us a short time ago that this is the biggest employer in his community.

This is working on about an hour and 45 minutes now since the first reports came in of the shooting. There have been no reports of any confirmed fatalities. But on the other hand, there is also no evidence that they had been able to apprehend a suspect yet.

We had heard in the local television report that there is an armored vehicle on standby outside the factory. Not sure how that is to be used. As well, you have seen a number -- and you see these live pictures still from WNDU -- a number of emergency vehicles, ambulances, police as well, surrounding the facility. You also heard from the local television that they have been trying to clear the buildings around it. Again, it's a big industrial park, so there are a lot of other factories around there. And the president of one of the other companies right around the Nu-Wood factory says that there are cops on the roofs of the building east of Nu-Wood. The ally is filled with cops with the guns drawn.

So a very, very tense situation inside the park, because the gunman has not been apprehended to this point.

The Elkhart County Sheriff's Department reporting to The Associated Press that a former employee of the Nu-Wood factory may be the one responsible -- may be the gunman involved in this case. However, they have not been able to apprehend that person.

As well, we have been speaking with a local state trooper who had told us that they are bringing in SWAT teams from all across the northern part of Indiana to try help out. So far, the situation has been so tenuous and so unsecured that they have not been able to move any of the emergency personnel in. They are not even certain that it is secure enough for the emergency assistance to be able to move into the building to help out any other people who may have been injured.

In terms of the number of injuries from the local hospital spokesperson, three people there are being treated. In addition, one person had been air-lifted from the scene to a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And in addition, the local hospital had been advised that as many as 30 to 35 people, in addition to those being treated now, may come in -- may come in in need of treatment. And so the local hospitals have been told to be on standby. Their help may be very greatly needed in the hours to come.

We had also heard that this industrial park is not very far from a local university and, in addition, some elementary schools. And, of course, it's a little after 4:00 in the afternoon, so there has been a great deal of concern for the young people in the area, whether they can be secured and kept in location. But that will probably keep their parents from getting to them right away, raising a great deal of concern there.

You will notice, over the industrial park there are some helicopters flying. We had heard from the state trooper a short time ago -- Trooper Brothy -- Senior Trooper Brothy saying that some of the state troopers' helicopters had been moved in -- several of them -- to help out in securing the scene. That is to say, if the gunman has gotten away from the building, they want top be able to have eyes in the sky overhead, watching to make sure that the gunman -- or gunmen, if that proves to be the case -- are not able to get away.

So you're going to see a number of helicopters over the scene, in addition to the news choppers, which seem to be kept back at a bit of a distance. The ones that you're seeing closer up, I believe, are the state troopers' helicopters. The trooper told us that there were several working in the area.

In addition, they are bringing SWAT teams in to be able to move. And the local reporter was telling his station, WNDU, that there was an armored vehicle at the scene, about a quarter of a mile away from the actual factory building. It's standing there at the staging point, at ready if needed to move in on the building.

In addition, we had seen a huge number of emergency vehicles -- ambulances, we had heard in the report from the local television station, that there had been ambulances coming from a number of communities in northern Indiana, all rushing to the scene. But they had all been lined up at the staging facility a quarter of a mile away from the factory itself.

I think you're able to see that on the right, at the bottom of the screen, a number of emergency vehicles had lined up their ambulances to transport any victims as need be. But as I've been saying, they have not even been able to move at this point and bring all the emergency assistance into the building to find anyone who has been injured, to find the people who may be in need of help, because authorities cannot tell if the situation is secure enough for the officers to go in, much less anyone else to be able to help those who may be injured inside.

But with reports continuing to be that as many as 35 -- perhaps even more, given these numbers that we're getting from the hospital in Goshen, Indiana -- 35, perhaps more than that from her counting. With that many people possibly being shot and injured in this, of course, there is a great deal of interest in keeping the ambulances at ready and at standby, waiting for any signal to move in as well.

The police on the scene with their guns drawn, as we heard from a local person in the community around the factory, saying that the guns are drawn and keeping a sharp eye out to find the suspect there. We are going to rejoin now, WNDU from South Bend, Indiana. Let's listen.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: ... that these shootings occurred. If there are wounded people in there, they need to get to them as quickly as possible.

HERMACINSKI: Right. When we talked to Mike Leeser (ph) from the city of Goshen, he did mentioned that one team was moving out, and they are in progress, as we speak. Here at the staging area there are other groups of police, different agencies here, and they just seem to be in a standby mode just like EMS crews.

So, we can assume here that one group of police officers, they are in action right now, doing the job, trying to find this gunman. And then the rest are back here at the staging area, waiting for stage two, whatever that may be.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: Obviously, Jay, we don't want to divulge any tactical information on the air, just on the outside chance that the gunman may have his television on or something like that. But, Jay, did you get any information as to how the original call came in? Did Mike Leeser (ph) with the mayor's office say whether or not it was the people who fled the scene or whether or not it was a 911 call? HERMACINSKI: We did not get that information, Terry, so I don't have that information for you right now.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: So many questions unanswered, unfortunately. There is just -- it as mystery right now. This will probably go long into the evening as far as what we'll know about injuries right now.

HERMACINSKI: Right. There's so much going on that I think the media is the least of their worries. And so they are not really spending that much time with us, understandably, right now. To me, it really feels like they are putting their plan into action. And they are figuring out how they are going to attack this thing and get these people treated once these ambulances are ready to head towards the business.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: But Jay, we do know that since there have been no additional gun shots anywhere we are aware of?

HERMACINSKI: We have not heard of any gun shots. There is an Indiana State Police helicopter circling the area, getting aerials. I haven't heard any gunshots or any word of whether or not this gunman is running around in the area, or whether or not is he pinned down in some building. We just don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: All right. Jay Hermacinski, reporting from the phone at the staging area on County Road 38, where he is about a quarter mile east of Nu-Wood, where this horrible shooting incident has taken place.

Again, 35 -- according the mayor as many as 35 people shot. We know of four who did make it to the hospital. There may be as at least a additional 30 people still in that building that you are looking at right now, and perhaps a gunman. Jay did mentioned that he knows of no other shots that have been fired since the incident began.

UNIDENTIFIED WNDU ANCHOR: And as a matter of fact, we have talked to people who worked right near by in two different companies who said they heard nothing. Now, of course, when you're dealing with mill work, you have to assume that it is a factory and there is some noise anyway. But still, the one woman who we talked to seemed a little surprised that she had not heard anything. Glenda Moses (ph) works next door at Hoosier House Furniture, and actually told us she was surprised that she wouldn't have heard anything.

CHEN: All right, CNN continuing to pick up where WNDU is covering the scene. The station is in South Bend, Indiana. But the scene you are watching is in Goshen, Indiana, in the northern part of the state, where there are reports today of a mass shooting. As many as 35 people have been injured in this.

However, so far, there's a bit of a lack of information because authorities had not been able to move into the building itself. Have not been able to reach inside and reach all those who might need help at this point. As well, the gunman remains at large. They have not been able to apprehend a suspect at this point. Indiana state troopers are bringing in S.W.A.T. teams from the northern part of the state to help out in this small community. It is only a community of about 29,000 people to begin with.

This industrial park, we are told by the mayor, is the biggest employer in the community and the Nu-Wood decorative mill work factory is a pretty significant player. We have been watching the scene there. The square building at the center of the screen seems to be the focus of the action there. But we had seen a number of ambulances parked around the area.

We are told by the local television station that as many as 50 emergency vehicles, ambulances and other emergency vehicles have shown up to help out, but so far they have not been able to get inside and get out anybody who really needs help and get them into an ambulance. So that has been a great difficulty.

Of the injuries that we know about now, at least three have been taken to the local hospital in Goshen, Indiana. One additional person air lifted to Fort Wayne, Indiana. And though the numbers don't quite add up, the local hospital spokeswoman says as many as 30 to 35 additional people may be coming in and may need additional help.

The local hospitals have been told to stand by for the possibility of many more people coming in needing treatment as well. The latest Associated Press reports say that police have told them some employees are still inside of the building, some of them may be wounded. And at this point, we have receive no information about whether a gunman has been apprehended at this point. And there has been no information about the apprehension of a suspect in the case.

About the suspect, the only information we have had is from Elkhart County sheriff's department captain, who said the gunman was believed to be an employee or former employee of this Nu-Wood decorative mill work factory. There seems to be confusion, as you might imagine, there is a great deal of confusion in the midst of a scene like this. But they have not been able to confirm that. But they thought that it may be an employee or former employee who was responsible for the shooting inside.

They are still trying to secure the location. That is the top priority. A local reporter had said on WNDU that there was an armored vehicle outside of the Nu-Wood Decorative Mill Work factory plant, an armored vehicle on standby if need be to be brought in as well as the other emergency vehicles and so many ambulances there standing by as well.

The local reporter had said a few minutes ago, that some officers may have been moved up from the staging area up to the factory itself. It wasn't very clear how many were there because it seemed like the bulk of the officers were still at the staging area. And we had also heard from the state trooper that a number of S.W.A.T. teams were coming in from other parts of northern Indiana as well to help to try to evacuate the situation.

We also heard, and you have seen in some of these pictures, this camera is on the move, but we had seen that there was a residential area not very far from the industrial park either, really very close. And in fact we had heard there was an elementary school quite close to the industrial park as well.

It is about 4:30 in the afternoon, both in Indiana as well as along the East Coast. So at 4:30 in the afternoon, a great deal of concern about young people in the area. There is also a university in the area and there is concern about young people who may be in harm's way.

We have seen the state trooper helicopter, and heard that there were several of them involved trying to secure the area to make sure the gunman doesn't get away from the industrial park.

We have on the telephone line with us now, Max Wiese who is with the local fire department there it Goshen, Indiana.

Sir, what can you tell us?

MAX WIESE, GOSHEN, INDIANA FIRE DEPARTMENT: Basically it is what I have been hearing you telling already. Our units are not able, as far as our EMS units, are not able to go into the scene yet. They are still waiting for it to be secure. Basically it is waiting game right now to be sure it is safe for people to go in.

CHEN: Now, when they are concerned about it being secure, have there additional shots heard? It's been just about two hours.

WIESE: I haven't heard anything to that -- like I say, I am only hearing what I am hearing on radio traffic. And I haven't heard anything about additional shots since maybe in the first 20 minutes when all this took place. But apparently, they have not found whoever caused all this and they just want to make sure it is safe for the EMS people to go in.

CHEN: Are there any police officers inside the building? Can you tell from the radio traffic?

WIESE: I have no idea. I only hear our side of the fire department traffic. I am not hearing the police traffic, and I am under the impression they are not in yet. But I cannot be sure of that.

CHEN: Right. That seems to be sort of the underlining what we are hearing from several different sources about them keeping everyone back until they are sure the situation is secure and it is safe for anyone to move inside.

What are your fire folks being told and the EMS folks being told?

WIESE: They are basically all on alert standing by. Their staging is probably approximately a half mile -- I mean, you can drive around from where it's at, to get to where this incident took place. There is a staging of many ambulances from ours plus area county. There is probably at least a dozen if not 20 ambulances standing out there, plus fire trucks and personnel.

CHEN: A dozen to 20 ambulances, some of them coming from other communities, I'm sure.

WIESE: Right, right. There is quite a few from other communities and private ambulances also.

CHEN: And do you know anything about evacuation? We see a lot of residential area right around the industrial park.

WIESE: I don't know what they have done as far as securing -- I know the roads in and out of the industrial park supposedly are blocked, only letting people get out, no one is going in. What the police have done as far as evacuation and stuff, I do not know.

I don't know what they have done as far as securing. I know the roads in and out of the industrial park and stuff supposedly are blocked, only letting people get out. No one is going in. What the police have done as far as the evacuation and stuff, I do not know.

CHEN: Max Wiese, he is with the Goshen Fire Department there is in Goshen, Indiana, where there are these reports of a mass shooting.

Again, it is at the half hour now. And we want to bring viewers who are just joining us up to date now on the latest information we are getting from Goshen, Indiana.

And it is still pretty sketchy. It's now about two hours since the first reports came in of a shooting, a mass shooting, at what is called the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory there at an industrial park in Goshen, Indiana. There as many as 35 people were reportedly feared to have been injured, shot by a lone gunman. There have been no reports of additional gunman. The Elkhart County Sheriff's Department spokesman said that the gunman apparently acted alone -- this report coming to us from the Associated Press -- that there are employees still inside the Millwork factory building -- the sheriff's department spokesman telling the Associated Press that an automatic weapon was used.

And some of the injuries appear to be shotgun wounds. There have been no deaths reported as of yet. About those injuries, we only know of four. We only have clear confirmation of about four. And that is three who were taken to a local hospital in Goshen, Indiana, and as well one person who was taken -- airlifted away to Fort Wayne, Indiana for additional treatment there. So that only accounts for four people who may have been injured, but as many as 35, we have heard from various sources, local police, local media, as well as the city's mayor saying that he was told as many as 35 people may have been injured in this mass shooting -- and a great deal of concern about what is happening inside right now, because they haven't been able to secure and take into custody, apprehend a suspect in this case.

They have been keeping very close vigilance about a quarter mile away in a staging area. As well we have seen some of the overhead action -- state troopers telling us that they had brought in several helicopters to secure the area around it. But over and over we're hearing that they have not been able to secure the building itself to the point where they can move officers in and where they can move the EMS people in to be able to help those who may have been injured in this.

There is certainly a focus getting people in and certainly a focus on getting help for those who have been injured. But so far the situation is still so tenuous that even authorities haven't been able to move in to help out in this. They are still very concerned about what the gunman might be doing inside this building.

About the facility itself and what has been heard around it, some of the local reports, the local media and the Associated Press reporting that they had spoken to people from buildings around the Nu- Wood Decorative Millwork factory itself who had not heard anything inside, had not reported any gunshots fired -- so only reports coming from inside the factory.

It's not clear whether the first calls on this came from a 911 call or by anyone who had managed to escape the building. It is very unclear about that. And it's not clear where the four people who were taken for treatment were located -- again, authorities saying that they have not even been able to move inside the building. They did say that the state troopers are bringing the SWAT teams from all across Northern Indiana to help out here.

Goshen is not a big community itself. It's only about 29,000 people. It's close to South Ben, Indiana and about 100 miles east of Chicago, in the northern part of the state, fairly close to the Michigan line as well.

The late reports, though, still stand at as many as 35 people who have been feared shot in this mass shooting at the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory there in Goshen, Indiana. We're continuing to follow up on that -- no reports of deaths at the facility. But still at this hour, more than two hours after the first reports of a shooting, there has been no apprehension of a gunman.

CNN is to continuing to follow up on this story. We are going to bring you the very latest details. We will take a short break here and return. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHEN: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. We are continuing to follow up on a developing story in Goshen, Indiana, breaking news, where we're hearing of a mass shooting reported at a factory in an industrial park. It is the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory in Goshen, Indiana.

As many as 35 people, we are told by the mayor -- who said he had heard that number -- as many as 35 people may have been injured in the mass shooting. And so far, there is no indication that they have apprehended a gunman in this case. As you can see there, they have been surrounding the building. They have been bringing in state trooper helicopters as well to secure the location. And we are told that there is a great deal of tension in the industrial park, which is the biggest employer in this community.

Joining us now on the telephone line is Roy Beaupain. He is the president of Economy Offset Printers, which is very close to the Nu- Wood Decorative Millwork factory.

Mr. Beaupain, are you still inside your facility?

ROY BEAUPAIN, PRESIDENT, ECONOMY OFFSET PRINTERS: Yes, I am.

CHEN: And what are you seeing there?

BEAUPAIN: Well, the SWAT team is leaving. The ambulance have already moved into position. And apparently it's over.

CHEN: It's over? You see them moving into the building? Or what is happening?

BEAUPAIN: The SWAT teamed entered the building about 15 minutes ago. And they have just left.

CHEN: And did you see anyone look like they were in custody or...

BEAUPAIN: No, there was nobody in custody.

CHEN: All right.

Is there any indication that you all are free to move around, that it is safe to move around outside?

BEAUPAIN: It seems that we are, yes.

CHEN: And do you see the ambulances, EMS people moving in? We are looking at some live pictures now. It's little bit hard to see, choppy snow there, with some stretchers coming out. But I can't tell because of the snow on the signal whether they are bringing anyone out. It does not look like they are bringing anyone out from inside. Can you see anything from where you are?

BEAUPAIN: No. No, I can't see -- I can only see one ambulance from here.

CHEN: It looks relatively calm from this picture, though dark- suited SWAT team...

BEAUPAIN: It does. It does seem really calm.

CHEN: Tell us about the time before this 15 minutes ago when the SWAT team moved in. What were you seeing then?

BEAUPAIN: Well, I just -- there was the SWAT team moving into position. That was about 20 minute ago, half an hour ago. And they were taking up positions around the building and then preparing to enter it.

CHEN: OK, we are seeing something coming out on a stretcher. Again, this is very tough for to us follow with the kind of video we are getting from a helicopter position overhead -- the local television station in South Bend following this for us. But it's a little bit hard to discern. We wouldn't to want to make a guess about what they're doing there.

Can you go back to the beginning? About 2:30 this afternoon when this first happened, did you hear something? How did you find out all this was going on?

BEAUPAIN: Well, I wasn't here at 2:30. I was on the road making my way back to the office. And the streets were blocked off. And I took a back way back to the office. And I noticed right away there was trouble because there was police with drawn weapons. And they didn't look like they really welcomed my pulling in just then.

CHEN: But they let you pull into your business.

BEAUPAIN: They did. They did. But they didn't appear to approve.

CHEN: OK.

Just to advise our viewers, you are looking at a live picture we're getting from WNDU in South Bend, Indiana. It did look like there was a figure on a stretcher coming out of the building, at least one figure on a stretcher that, of course, as you can see from this videotape -- you can see yourself -- it is not very clear what is going on on the ground there, only that we are seeing some stretchers move out.

And you are, Mr. Beaupain, saying that is a little bit easier for folks, a little bit calmer for folks to be...

BEAUPAIN: It is a lot calmer, yes. And, in fact, they are letting people walk around in between the building. I don't know if they were just holed up somewhere or they just were -- they are allowing people to walk on the street or on the alley.

CHEN: How close is your factory to the Nu-Wood factory?

BEAUPAIN: I guess about 50 feet away.

CHEN: OK, so your building is the next-door neighbor, I guess.

BEAUPAIN: It's catty-corner from where I'm looking.

CHEN: All right. So you got back to your building and then what happened? Did anybody advise you what was going on?

BEAUPAIN: No. Nobody told us anything. We only heard -- we heard the first reports from customers calling to us ask if we were OK.

CHEN: And I presume you are OK. None of your people have been involved this at all? BEAUPAIN: Right. No. We are all safe.

CHEN: So your folks, did they report hearing anything, shots fired or anything else from the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory building?

BEAUPAIN: No. Our employees did not hear any shots.

CHEN: And do you know anything about how the police were informed? Did anybody come running to you to tell you that anything was going wrong over there?

BEAUPAIN: No, we have been in the dark about it.

CHEN: Now, I also understand that there had been, before this point when the SWAT teams moved in, 20 or so minutes ago, there had been a number of cops lined up overhead on the rooftops -- your rooftop, perhaps?

BEAUPAIN: That's right, yes.

CHEN: What were they doing?

BEAUPAIN: They were just walking around with their rifles, I guess preparing.

CHEN: And then you saw the SWAT folks moving in about 20 minutes ago. Can you tell us about that? I heard there was an armored vehicle on the scene?

BEAUPAIN: Yes. That was apparently the SWAT team's vehicle.

CHEN: And how did it get in? Could you see it?

BEAUPAIN: No, they just they parked by the street and then they walked in.

CHEN: They walked in.

BEAUPAIN: Yes, they walked in.

CHEN: Was that -- it looks almost like a garage door kind of door -- open this whole time?

BEAUPAIN: I don't know. That's probably the east entrance to the building. And I can't see that from my position.

CHEN: I see. OK. So we are looking at a picture that you can't actually see at this point.

BEAUPAIN: Right.

CHEN: OK. We are seeing some activity at that door, both the small regular door and that scene you are seeing there about a third way across your screen, for our viewers at home who are seeing this, another stretcher coming out -- can't tell if there is a figure on it from here. It looks like there might be a figure on it as well.

All right, I'm sorry to interrupt you there, Mr. Beaupain.

Can you continue with your story? So there you were you watching the folks moving around on the rooftops. Where were the ambulances in location to you?

BEAUPAIN: They were on the street, several 100 feet away.

CHEN: And how many did you see out there?

BEAUPAIN: I only saw two or three. But once the SWAT team left, they all come racing in. And I guess I saw about 10 now -- vehicles rush right in.

CHEN: You've seen about 10 ambulances?

BEAUPAIN: Right.

CHEN: And you haven't been able to tell how many of them are transporting -- a number of vehicles with their sirens running or anything like that going away from the scene?

BEAUPAIN: No, I can't see from here.

CHEN: OK.

Tell us little bit about this factory. It looks like a pretty big place. Is this one of the bigger players in your industrial park?

BEAUPAIN: No, not really.

CHEN: How many people would you wager work inside this plant?

BEAUPAIN: I wouldn't know. We do a little bit of printing for them. So I know three of the people that I work with. And I'm just hoping that they are OK.

CHEN: I hope so, too. I hope so for you as well.

And this factory, it looks like it's been there for quite some time. I understand it makes millwood for RVs.

BEAUPAIN: I don't know about the RVs. They make decorative simulated wood awnings and moldings for -- I thought it was for expensive houses.

CHEN: OK. Is this a 24-hour plant?

BEAUPAIN: I think they do run two shifts at least.

CHEN: We had been told -- and I just want to advise our viewers that there were reports from WSBT-TV in South Bend -- that is another of our affiliates -- reporting that parts of the building had been secured. And you're seeing evidence there that emergency workers have been able to move at least freely enough to go inside and try to help out in there.

We are going to listen to WNDU-TV, our affiliate in South Bend as they are watching over the scene.

BEAUPAIN: OK.

TERRY MCFADDEN, WNDU ANCHOR: Backboards laid out outside that warehouse door. Again, you can draw your own conclusions as to what is going on. But we have not seen anybody rushed from the scene, so to speak.

Right now, we have seen a couple of gurneys being wheeled out. But, quite frankly, the shot was so far away, we couldn't tell if anybody was on the gurney or not. Sinai Simpson (ph) and the gentleman we talked to, Jesse Conrad (ph), did not see any ambulances, what they call running signal 10 ten, from the area, with their lights on.

MAUREEN MCFADDEN, WNDU ANCHOR: Right, although I would imagine police finding people inside, if they are not seriously injured, need to calm them down, need to talk to them, trying to figure out exactly what did happen.

T. MCFADDEN: Right. And you bring up a good point. There could be a number of people who are in that building hiding. And, so -- and if that's the case, it could be that the police -- they either haven't come out or the police are telling them: Look, we need you to stay here before -- we need to talk to you before you leave, before we take you somewhere for a debriefing.

Again, this is speculation. There's a group of people gathered outside that door. We have no way of knowing if any of these people were in the business when the shooting occurred.

M. MCFADDEN: That's right. Jay Hermacinski (ph) is at the command post. And we are hoping that some time in the very immediate future that Jay might be able to give us more information on what is happening here.

We do know there are a number of ambulances on the scene from all over the area, South Bend, Warsaw. The Goshen, obviously they are there full-throttle -- Elkhart. And we had talked to people from the "Elkhart Truth" who gave us a lot of good information. They had one reporter at the scene who was able to give us some information regarding what was going on.

And the hospital was able to tell us that there were initially three people brought in. But then they said there were actually four people brought in -- no one dead, but they did have to airlift someone to a Fort Wayne hospital, so...

T. MCFADDEN: Yes, we want to go to Dawn Meyer in our newsroom. Again, let's stay on this shot here. Again, we can't tell, but it looks as if somebody is being taken to an ambulance.

Dawn, you have some additional information you would like to pass on to us.

DAWN MEYER, WNDU REPORTER: That's right, Terry.

I have been working the phones in the newsroom. And I talked to Donna Rore (ph) from Goshen General. As you have been reporting, three people brought there -- however, one person was airlifted to Parkview General Hospital in Fort Wayne. It's been difficult to get through to hospital officials there. They say they have been inundated with phone calls from all around the country, media wanting information regarding this one person who was airlifted from the Goshen area to Parkview General Hospital.

I spoke with Mike Walfulson (ph). He is the public relations director there in Fort Wayne. He said one patient arrived just 15 minutes ago. That person is being treated in the hospital's trauma center. He said that that was all he knew at this point. I asked him if he knew of any sort of the extent of injuries, if this person had been shot. That was all the information he could give me at this time. He would not say whether it was a male or female.

But they are staying on top of this. And they are cooperating with the media. They said that they would get the information to us just as quickly as they learn it. Again, Fort Wayne is the trauma hospital for the region. That is why this one particular victim from Goshen was taken to Fort Wayne -- again, only one person so far. We don't know the gender of that person or the extent of their injuries. But, Terry and Maureen, we obviously know these have to be very critical injuries in order to be airlifted to Fort Wayne, of course, and being treated in their trauma center.

We also want to tell you that we got a call from Debbie Hawk (ph) from Verizon Wireless cell phone. This is something important for people to keep in mind. If you are trying to reach people in Goshen via a cell phone, they are asking that you cut back on the amount of calls because they are backlogged. And they are not able to handle all the phone calls going on on these cell phone lines.

They say law enforcement needs these phone lines open so that they communicate with one another. At this point, it's been very difficult, as you might imagine. I can attest to that. I have been trying to call hospitals and people's cell phones in the Goshen area to try to get more information. And that has been very difficult. So, again, if you could avoid at all costs calling on your cell phone or calling people on your cell phone to the Goshen area so that law enforcement can do their job, again.

So Mike Walfulson, public relations director, Maureen and Terry, at Parkview General Hospital reporting that...

CHEN: CNN picking up again coverage from WNDU, our affiliate in South Bend, Indiana, watching over the scene at Goshen, Indiana, a community not far from South Bend in the northern part of the state.

The reports this afternoon, if you are just joining us now, is that as many as 35 people were shot in a mass shooting. These are pictures now we are just getting in from another affiliate, WSBT-TV in South Bend, Indiana, of the scene on the ground -- live pictures of the scene.

We know that a very large command post had been set up. And it looks like that is the armored vehicle that we had heard from the local reporters that had been set up outside the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory, now moving away from the scene. We understood from state troopers that they had brought in troopers from all across the northern part of the state as well. There are helicopters to try to secure the scene as the gunman remained at large.

But just a short time ago, we received a report that the SWAT teams had told the state police the gunman in this case may have killed himself. That would explain the relatively calm tone now at the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory in Goshen, Indiana, where this has been under way. It began almost two and a half hours ago, the first reports came in of this.

The first reports were a lone gunman and as many as 35 people had been injured in the mass shooting there. There have so far been no confirmed reports of any fatalities, with the one mention of the SWAT telling state police that the gunman may have killed himself.

The best information we have on injuries is that three people were treated at a local hospital. One person was airlifted to Fort Wayne, Parkview General Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for additional treatment. There had been reports of as many as 35 people injured in this mass shooting scene inside the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory. And so all of the local hospitals in the community have been ordered on standby.

You're seeing some of the ambulances move away. But they're not going at a high speed. There are some sirens running or lights running, but it does not seem to be a high-speed situation. And there have no reports from any of the local reporters indicating whether they have seen anyone moving -- being moved by stretcher from inside the factory away from the scene, or away for treatment at a local hospital, beyond the initial reports we had gotten of the four people who were taken off for treatment quite early in this.

This has been going on, as I say, for almost two and a half hours from the first reports. And a lot of the delay appears to have been because there was great concern about securing the location. They had a great deal of concern that police officers or other emergency people on the scene might be at risk if they moved too quickly on the scene itself, if they moved too quickly to enter the building, even though they were aware of these reports that as many as 35 might people have been injured inside.

They took a great deal of time and consideration making sure the scene was secure before they brought in the emergency people, even though they were quite focused on trying to get help for anyone who needed it inside.

The first reports coming to us from the local authorities is that it is possible that the gunman was a disgruntled employee or former employee at the factory. That had not been confirmed by anyone. And no identity has been given of the gunman. The only information we have about a possible gunman is the SWAT team telling the state police, state troopers that the gunman may have killed himself at this point. And that is why the scene had quieted down somewhat.

We heard from a man in a neighboring factor facility that, really, the people in the factories around there -- and bear in mind, this is a fairly large industrial park, employing several thousand employees in the whole industrial park. But people in other buildings in this area had not heard anything on this. In fact, the man who spoke to us by phone, Roy Beaupain, said that he was able to drive up to his factory, which is just catty-corner from the Nu-Wood factory, and get into his building even while all this was under way at the Nu- Wood facility maybe some 50 feet away.

But they had not heard any shots or any indication of what was going on inside, even as all of this was taking place. The reports of the shooting came very early in the crisis. There had not been any further details of additional shootings later. But it had taken them a good two hours before things appeared settled enough for the officers to move in and to aid anyone who needed assistance inside.

Again, we had seen SWAT team folks lined up. And we had heard from the state troopers that they had been bringing people from all over Northern Indiana, SWAT team folks, who were able to help out in the situation in the small community of Goshen, Indiana to make sure that they could get that situation secure and get their suspect under arrest, if that was possible -- but now the SWAT teams reporting to the state trooper that the gunman may have killed himself.

Joining us on the telephone line now is Karen Belcher. She is with Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Karen, I understand that yours was the hospital where one of the victims was airlifted to. Can you tell us about this?

KAREN BELCHER, PARKVIEW HOSPITAL: Yes, that's correct.

Just a second. I'm going to turn this up.

Yes, we did have one person that was airlifted via our Samaritan helicopter to the hospital. And he was brought in originally at critical condition, and now is listed as in serious condition.

CHEN: Can you can tell us about the injuries?

BELCHER: No, I can't at this time.

CHEN: But they were gunshot injuries, not something else.

BELCHER: That's what -- I believe that that is case. I do need to go back and get an update on the injuries.

CHEN: Is that person male or female?

BELCHER: Male.

CHEN: OK. Is this man now in surgery or is he... BELCHER: I believe the person is still receiving treatment in the trauma center.

CHEN: And was it made clear to you whether this person was a victim or might actually have been the gunman? Could you tell?

BELCHER: I'm sorry. I don't know that information right now. We are still receiving updates out where I'm stationed at as well.

CHEN: And you have only one person from the Goshen scene.

BELCHER: That's correct. We have one right now.

CHEN: All right, do you have indication that you might be getting any additional people coming in to you?

BELCHER: We are still waiting for confirmation on that. They did ask for our helicopter to return, though.

CHEN: And have you been given any clear indication that things are over? It looked like things had calmed down. And some of the folks inside the park had told us that things have calmed down significantly after the SWAT team moved in. But had you received any reports that there was a stand-down for the hospitals?

BELCHER: Actually, we haven't. And we have been watching your station to try to keep abreast of the situation as it happens as well.

CHEN: Well, we appreciate that. We appreciate you tuning in to CNN to find out what is going on even on your own story there. We appreciate your assistance in this -- Karen Belcher, Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana -- Karen telling us that one person -- the one person who had been airlifted to her facility was originally in critical condition, has now been upgraded to serious condition, being treated still, she believes, in the trauma center of Parkview Hospital.

As well we had heard from the Goshen General Hospital that three people had been treated in their hospital. But they had originally been told that as many as 30 or 35 additional might come in. We have been watching the scene quite closely. And we have not seen any ambulances running at full speed from the facility, even though it's clear now that authorities have been able to at least secure part of the building and get inside. The back door was open. And there had been some stretcher movement in and out.

It wasn't clear that anyone had been removed by stretcher at this point, in addition to those original injuries. But stretchers and backboards had been out in front of the building. We had not seen any quick movement of anyone towards an ambulance in this area.

We are told that there had been ambulances from all over Northern Indiana have been lined up there to assist. They had been staged at a point about a quarter mile away from Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory on standby, ready to move in at a moment's notice, if need be, because, of course, the priority was on treating those who have might have been inside and who might have been very seriously injured inside.

Those ambulances, though, had been kept back for a good two hours because of concerns that the location was not secure. The state troopers had put helicopters in this area to try to make sure that the area around was secure. There is a residential area not far from this industrial park that we had seen on camera from the helicopter shot.

As well we had heard that there is a university very close, maybe half a mile away -- in addition, an elementary school in this area. So there has been a lot of concern in the area around. But, as of this hour, it looks like things have called down considerably at the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory in Goshen, Indiana itself. There had been movement of people walking pretty much all around the factory center itself, some movement there.

The man in the building, catty-cornered, Roy Beaupain, who had been on the telephone line with us a little bit earlier, had said things did look, from his vantage point, to have significantly called down. People were walking around rather quietly and moving rather quietly in this area around him. He said that his building was only about 50 feet away from the door of the Millwork factory building itself.

Again, the story that we have been following through this afternoon: mass shooting reported at this factory in Goshen, Indiana inside an industrial park -- thousands of people employed in the industrial park. We are not sure how many were employed inside this particular factory. The mayor of the city had told us that this industrial park is the biggest employer in his community. But as to the specifics of the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory itself, he could not tell us how many people were employed there.

But the earlier reports were that there had been some sort of shooting incident in which as many as 35 people might have been injured. Again, we can only now account for four people, three treated at a local hospital, one airlifted to Fort Wayne and upgraded quite recently, we heard, in this latest interview with Karen Belcher of the Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. That one person had been upgraded from critical to serious condition, again, still being treated there in Fort Wayne.

We want to go back to WNDU-TV, our affiliate from South Bend, Indiana now and get the latest update there. Let's listen.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: While we were there, we did manage to talk to a wife of one of the workers. This gentlemen managed to get out of the building and then call his wife on the cell phone. The picture he paints is that this was an employee who got into a fight earlier in the day, around lunchtime, was fired, and apparently promised to come back with a weapon. Now, that is an unconfirmed report. That is something that we are getting from one of the individuals who was inside the factory at the time of the shooting.

Now, the family members have been ushered inside. This is some of the raw tape that we're feeding back to you right now. Some of the family members who are talking, obviously that woman, overcome with emotion at not knowing exactly what was going on. This was basically just a thrown-together area out here today in the parking lot outside of Goshen High School.

Red Cross has been here. They managed to feed some of the people. And like we said, they brought them into the auxiliary gymnasium of Goshen High School to try and answer some of their questions as to what's going on, on the south side of Goshen.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Robert, we were told that this company -- and this is from a gentleman who worked at Ingersoll-Rand, next door. Again, his information may or may not be completely accurate. But he thought that the company ran two shifts. If there were a total of 35 people employed by the company and it ran two shifts, is it possible that number may be a little bit inflated?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It is possible. We are told that, apparently, the shooter came in at shift change. There were people on their way in. And the lady who told us her husband got out OK relayed to us that he had been in line behind the shooter, as the shooter went in. He saw what was going to happen, turned around and ran out, and was at a neighboring business when he called her on her cell phone to let her know that he was OK.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So this particular man who called his wife had not been injured? Had not been shot.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That's correct.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What time was shift change? Was it about 2:30?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Apparently, it was about 2:30, from what she was saying -- that the fight had occurred right around the lunch hour. And apparently the gunman came back right at shift change, and that's when all this went down, at about 2:30 this afternoon.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Robert, did the gentleman say -- who called his wife, did he say whether he was the only one who got out?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He said that there were others who got out. He did not know. And he was telling his wife that the police...

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He didn't know how many?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: No. The police did not want to tell -- did not want him to tell anyone who the shooter was. It seemed that he knew who the shooter was. He did not divulge that information to his wife, nor did he tell her who was injured and who wasn't. From his vantage point, he got out of there.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes, it sounds like he was going in and got out as quickly as he could, and perhaps saved his life by doing so.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And, Robert, it also sounds that at least a couple of other people may have escaped as well as him. Is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: At this point we don't know for certain. But from what this gentleman was telling his wife over the cell phone, that is possible. Because like we were saying, it was at shift change that this whole thing apparently went down.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK. And, Robert, are you seeing that family members are continuing to arrive at Goshen High School?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: At this point...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It looked like a lot of them had been here just as we showed up. And about 15 minutes later, a police car pulled up right on U.S. 33...

CHEN: Bring our viewers up to date, here on CNN. You've been watching coverage this last few minutes from WNDU, our affiliate in South Bend, Indiana, of the situation. We have been watching for about two and a half hours at this point.

The first reports of a mass shooting at a factory at an industrial park there in Goshen, Indiana. There have been reports now, S.W.A.T. Teams telling the Indiana State troopers that as they move in, they believed that the gunman may have killed himself.

But the earlier reports were that as many as 35 people might have been injured. There have been no confirmed reports of deaths. We do know that four people have been taken for treatment -- three at a local hospital. One had been air-lifted away to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

And we have seen, in the past few minutes, a relatively calmer scene than the tense one we have been watching for much of the afternoon. Things have quieted down pretty significantly at the Nu- Wood Decorative Millwork Factory there in Goshen, Indiana.

You see the building there toward the bottom of your screen, in this industrial park -- that squareish building at the bottom of your screen, we believe, down there. The report you were just hearing from the local television station and, again, this has not been confirmed by any authorities.

But the local television reporter saying that he had talked to a family member. So she had heard from an employee of the factory that what had happened was someone had been an employee earlier in the day, got into a fight with someone, got fired just before lunch time, and left, promising to return with some sort of weapon.

Then at about shift change, which was at about 2:30 in the afternoon, at this plant, there was a lineup of people at the door. This person told his family member that he saw something bad was about to happen, turned and ran. And he was one of the ones who were able to get away.

We have been watching all of this develop, and we're trying to get a better handle on all of the people involved. On our telephone line now is a man named Steve Arnold. His company does quite a bit of business, we understand, with Nu-Wood. We want to get a little perspective from him on what he is hearing.

Mr. Arnold, we appreciate you being with us. Can you give us any more detail on what's been going on here today?

STEVE ARNOLD, BUSINESSMAN: Well, I can't give you an awful lot of details. I just found out about it myself. It was funny. I was there at the plant yesterday. I'm a representative for Nu-Wood, among other companies that I represent. But I spent a half-day yesterday there, and I had dinner with the general manager and the sales manager the night before.

CHEN: And you were there today as well?

ARNOLD: No, I was there yesterday. I just got on -- I just landed in Atlanta, and heard on the news what had happened, and was in total shock.

CHEN: All right, can you tell us a little bit about how big this plant is, how many folks are employed there?

ARNOLD: Really, I'm thinking there are probably only about 35 employees there.

CHEN: You know that the reports from the mayor and others were that as many as 35 people might have been injured. They run a couple shifts there?

ARNOLD: Yes, that's correct.

CHEN: And what we have heard from this latest report one of the locals TV stations is that this incident took place at about the time of the shift change, which was, according the local news reports, about 2:30 in the afternoon. Can you talk about how big a facility it is, and what they normally do inside?

ARNOLD: Well, they manufacture urethane millwork for the building material industry. And it's a metal building manufacturing plant. So, but you know, not many employees. It's a relatively small company.

And when we went through the plant yesterday, we went to see all of the employees that were working in the plant. Everybody was smiling and waving. There didn't seem to be any disgruntled employees or anything. So this caught me by total surprise.

CHEN: I'm sure. You know, one of the things that surprised me a bit is that we had heard this is an industrial park. The buildings are relatively close together, and yet people in other buildings around there said that they hadn't heard anything. They just saw all the emergency vehicles show up, and that was their indication that something was wrong.

But they hadn't hear shots being fired. Would that surprise you, given the nature of the building and the area around there, that no one else had heard?

ARNOLD: No, not really, because inside the manufacturing plant, it's loud enough to muffle. Of course, I have no idea what kind of firearms were used. But it could muffle any noise from a firearm, I would think.

CHEN: How long has this factory been there?

ARNOLD: I don't know how long the factory has been open. We have been representing them for almost 10 years.

CHEN: Steve Arnold, he represents Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork, as well as other companies in his work -- one of the people quite surprised to hear what has been going on there at Goshen, Indiana.

Again, CNN continuing to follow up on this developing story. It appears to have quieted significantly. We'll continue to update you on any information we get about injuries, or those who might have been killed. But right now it seems the location is secure. And the only information we have about the suspect is that the SWAT Team reports to the state troopers that they believe the suspect may have killed himself inside.

We'll continue to update you as events warrant.

Now we want to move up to Washington and Wolf Blitzer, standing by there -- Wolf.

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