Holly MatkinSuperior, NE – An employee at a grain complex used a shotgun stored in the business office to stop an active shooter during a deadly attack at the facility on Thursday.
The incident occurred at the Agrex Elevator at approximately 2 p.m. on Oct. 21, KETV reported.
The gunman, 61-year-old Max Hoskinson, had been fired by the company earlier in the day and returned to the facility armed with a handgun, according to the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP).
Hoskinson opened fire on his former colleagues, shooting three of them, KETV reported.
Another employee managed to grab a shotgun that was stored in the business office and used it to stop the massacre.
The NSP responded to the scene along with the Superior Police Department (SPD) and the Nuckolls County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO), KETV reported.
They arrived to find one victim fatally shot.
Hoskinson and a second victim were critically wounded, and a third victim was suffering from a minor injury, KETV reported.
The critically-wounded victim was airlifted to Bryan Health West Campus in Lincoln, where the victim passed away, according to the NSP.
Hokinson was transported to a hospital in Superior, where he was pronounced dead.
The victim with minor injures was treated and released from the local hospital, KETV reported.
The NSP is leading the investigation into the deadly attack with the assistance of the NCSO, the SPD, and the Nuckolls County Attorney’s Office.
“The news of the attack on Agrex Elevator in Superior is shocking and devastating,” Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts said in a statement to the news outlet. “Susanne and I are praying for the victims of the attack.”
Bill Blauvelt, who publishes the local newspaper in the 1,750-member town, said the gunman and the three victims are all well-known members of the community, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
According to Blauvelt, Hoskinson had been the chief grain merchandiser for the elevator and worked for the business for many years.
He said the victim who died at the scene was a woman who had worked for Hoskinson as a merchandiser, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
“It’s a small town,” Blauvelt said. “We all feel the pain.”
