An Oklahoma man attacked two former coworkers Thursday afternoon with a knife and beheaded one of the women, police said.

Authorities said 30-year-old Alton Nolen had been fired from a food distribution plant in Moore but returned in his car, struck another vehicle, and stabbed 54-year-old Colleen Hufford several times with a knife he took from the facility.

Police confirmed Nolen then severed the woman’s head.

Nolen attacked 43-year-old Traci Johnson with the same knife, police said, but he was shot by Mark Vaughn – an Oklahoma County reserve deputy and former CEO of Vaughn Foods.

“He’s a hero in this situation,” said Sgt. Jeremy Lewis. “It could have gotten a lot worse.”

Police said the FBI was investigating claims by some former coworkers that Nolen had recently converted to Islam and had tried to convert some colleagues, reported KFOR-TV.

Investigators said Nolen attacked the women at random.

Johnson was in stable condition at a nearby hospital, authorities said.

Watch this video report posted online by KFOR-TV: