Shooting occurs at Diversified Plastics in Nixa

A shooting occurred at a Nixa business on Friday afternoon, according to the Nixa Police Department.

Officers responded at approximately 1:16 p.m. to Diversified Plastics Corp., located at 120 W. Mt Vernon St., according to a statement issued through the Nixa Police Department's Facebook page.

Officials say the shooter was taken into custody without incident after employees of the business subdued the suspect. The victim was taken to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest including injuries to the spleen, colon, diaphragm and one lung, according to the police department probable cause statement. Court records note that the alleged gunman was found with a head wound at the time law enforcement responded to the scene. Nixa police said the suspect was also taken to a local hospital. 

"Based on the information currently available, investigators believe this to be an isolated incident that stemmed from a work-related altercation," Nixa Police Department officials said in the statement. "There is no ongoing threat to the public."

Christian County prosecutors this morning charged the suspect, identified as Springfield resident Kale D. Lawrence in Missouri court records, with one count of class A felony assault and a separate felony count of armed criminal action for allegedly shooting the victim, along with a third count, the class E felony of alleged unlawful use of a weapon.

Diversified Plastics did not return a request for comment by deadline.

The Nixa Police Department is asking individuals with knowledge of the incident to contact them, according to the statement.

“Additional information will be released when it becomes available and appropriate to do so,” department officials said in the statement.