Two employees have been killed and another critically injured at a warehouse in central Illinois, all apparently shot by a coworker who was found fatally shot in his car later in the day.

Springfield police Chief Kenny Winslow said the shooting happened shortly after 11am at the Bunn-O-Matic facility in Springfield. Winslow said the bodies of the two employees were found by police officers searching the building.

A female employee was found injured in the parking lot and was rushed to a hospital, he said.

The sheriff of nearby Morgan County called the chief's office later in the day to say the suspect's body had been found in his car, a victim of a gunshot wound, Winslow said.

Winslow identified the gunman as 48-year-old Michael L Collins of Springfield.

Authorities have not released the names of the others who were shot, but Winslow said one of the men who died was in his 60s, one was in his 20s and the woman who was critically injured is in her 50s.

Winslow refused to discuss a possible motive but he said Collins knew all of his victims. He said he could not say for sure if Collins took his own life. He didn't know if Collins had a criminal record.

Bunn-O-Matic manufactures dispensed beverage equipment, and is based in Springfield, according to the company's website.