Wesley Neal Higdon, born in 1982, was a 25-year-old employee at the Atlantis Plastics factory in Henderson, Kentucky. Colleagues described him as a difficult individual with a history of confrontations at work. On the evening of June 24, 2008, Higdon was reprimanded twice by his supervisor, Kevin Taylor—once for excessive cell phone use and again for not wearing safety glasses. Later that night, Higdon was involved in an altercation with co-worker Joshua Hinojosa at a convenience store across from the factory.

In the early morning of June 25, 2008, around 12:30 a.m., Higdon was being escorted out of the Atlantis Plastics factory by supervisor Kevin Taylor following their earlier disputes. Higdon retrieved a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol from his vehicle and fatally shot Taylor outside the facility. He then re-entered the factory, proceeding to the break room where he shot and killed co-workers Trisha Mirelez, Israel Monroy, and Rachael Vasquez. On the factory floor, he fatally shot Joshua Hinojosa and critically injured Noelia Monroy, Israel's sister, by shooting her in the arm, chest, and leg. Higdon then turned the gun on himself, committing suicide.

Prior to the shooting, Higdon had called his girlfriend, expressing his intent to kill his boss. Unfortunately, this warning was not relayed to authorities in time.