An altercation between coworkers at an Intel semiconductor factory in Chandler, Arizona, turned deadly on Saturday morning. According to police, one person is dead, one is injured, and a third is in jail.
The Chandler Police Department shared in a press release that Derrick Lemond Simmons, 50, was booked into jail on first-degree murder and aggravated assault charges.
The altercation took place in the factory’s cafeteria and was seen by other workers, according to police.
Witnesses reported seeing Simmons with a baseball bat, striking the victim multiple times. They also reported seeing him use a hatchet and knife in the altercation, a probable cause statement filed in support of his arrest obtained by NBC News said.
One coworker, who was injured from the incident, tried to confront Simmons but was struck in the back of the head with the bat, the document says. Police said the coworker had non-life-threatening injuries.
When police arrived at the factory, they found Simmons in the front of the building, holding a bag with weapons inside, according to court documents. Simmons reportedly told officers they were looking for him and surrendered.
For the victim in the attack, police say it appears they died from blunt-force trauma, but the results of an autopsy will confirm the cause of death.
The victim and injured worker have not been identified by police at this time.
Police are still investigating what the motive behind the attack was. However, they shared in the probable cause statement that he had been arrested in 2001 on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge.
A spokesperson for Intel Arizona, Linda Qian, shared a statement following the attack.
“After a tragic incident at the Ocotillo campus this morning, Chandler Police are on-site and working closely with Intel Security as they conduct their investigation," Qian said.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
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