A man fired from a food-processing plant allegedly beheaded a woman with a knife and was attacking another worker when he was shot and wounded by a company official, US police said.
Moore Police Sergeant Jeremy Lewis said police were waiting until Alton Nolen, 30, regained consciousness in hospital to arrest him and asked the FBI to help investigate after coworkers at Vaughan Foods in the south Oklahoma City suburb told authorities that he recently started trying to convert employees to Islam.
During Thursday’s attack, Nolen severed the head of Colleen Hufford, 54, Lewis said.
“Yes, she was beheaded,” Lewis told reporters before a Friday press conference.
Lewis said Nolen then stabbed Traci Johnson, 43, a number of times before Mark Vaughan, a reserve sheriff’s deputy and the company’s chief operating officer, shot him.
“This was not going to stop if he didn’t stop it. It could have gotten a lot worse,” Lewis said. “The threat had already stopped once we arrived.”
Lewis said Moore police have asked the FBI to look into the man’s background because of the nature of the attack, which follows a series of videotaped beheadings by Islamic State militants.
In a statement, FBI special agent in charge James Finch said the motive for the attack had not been determined, but that there was no reason to believe there was a threat to anyone else.
A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told reporters that while there was indication that Nolen was a Muslim convert and was trying to convert others to Islam, there was so far no connection to terrorism and no evidence of any worrisome travel.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said Nolen had a Facebook page that was of potential interest to investigators, but that “there doesn’t appear to be any nexus to terrorism right now.”
However, the official also said investigators were still looking into Nolen’s background.
Johnson and the suspect were hospitalized and in a stable condition on Friday, Lewis said.
Nolen had not yet been charged and Lewis said he did not know what charges the suspect would face.
Oklahoma Department of Corrections records say Nolen has served time in prison and is on probation for assault and battery on a police officer. He also was convicted of cocaine possession with intent to distribute in 2011.
Corrections records show Nolen has what appear to be religious tattoos, including one referencing Jesus and one in Arabic that means “peace be with you.”
Lewis said Nolen had been fired in a building that houses the company’s human resources office, then immediately drove to the entrance of the business. Lewis said he did not know why the man was fired.
A Vaughan spokeswoman said the company was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the attack.
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