Active shooter threat at Ford's Kansas City plant not credible, officials say

[July 19, 2023]  (Reuters) -Ford's Kansas City assembly plant in Claycomo, Missouri was evacuated on Tuesday after a report of an active shooter, but officials have determined that the threat was not credible.  

"We and our partner agencies have finished searching the Ford plant. We did not locate anyone inside and have determined the threat was not credible," the Clay County, Missouri Sheriff's office tweeted on Wednesday.

Ford ceased all production at the plant, including for Tuesday's night shift, the sheriff's office said earlier.

The Kansas City assembly plant employs about 7,250 workers, according to Ford's website. Ford did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.

A man called Ford's safety and risk management team at about 5:20 p.m. and said he was armed with explosives, a rifle, and a pistol, and that he had barricaded himself in a second-floor bathroom in the paint area of the plant, according to officials.

Officials at the time said it could have been a "swatting call" hoax aimed at triggering an emergency response and a team was working to clear the factory.

The man had said he was a disgruntled Ford worker and gave a name that did not match any employee of the paint area.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jason Neely)

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.