Maybelline cosmetics factory employee shot to death at work
North Little Rock AR Feb 15 2018 Two people were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds in a suspected murder-suicide outside the Maybelline cosmetics factory in North Little Rock, police said.
Officers responded shortly after 3 a.m. to a report of shots fired at the factory off Interstate 40 at 11500 Maybelline Drive and found two bodies in the parking lot, North Little Rock Police Department Sgt. Amy Cooper said.
Jim Gilot, 32, fatally shot 19-year-old Chasity Denise Cannady before killing himself, according to a news release, which cited witness accounts.
Police said Cannady was an active employee at the factory. Gilot worked for the company at one point, though his employment status at the time had not been determined as of Wednesday morning.
No other suspects are sought in connection with the murder-suicide, Cooper said.
Police have not said how Cannady and Gilot may have known each other or indicated what may have led to the shooting.
The factory makes products like mascara, eye shadow and lip glosses under the Maybelline and L’Oreal brands as well as high-end cosmetics for other luxury cosmetics brands.
Maybelline is among several brands in L’Oreal’s consumer products division, along with L’Oreal Paris, Garnier and others. L’Oreal USA offered no details about the shooting in a statement Wednesday.
“We are working closely with the authorities as they investigate this tragedy that occurred on our property early this morning,” it said. “We do not have further information to share at this point and remain focused on supporting our employees.”
Cooper said the murder-suicide is not considered linked to a federal case filed in January against L’Oreal USA in relation to a reported labor issue at the company’s North Little Rock plant.
The petition accuses the factory of not giving an employee a pay increase similar to one given to other workers during departmental restructuring because he had been called to active duty with the Army National Guard.
