5 slain in brewery rampage
Milwaukee shooter, also dead, showed ‘cold disregard’ for life
MILWAUKEE – In one of the worst shootings in Wisconsin history, five people were killed by a gunman during a rampage on the Milwaukee campus of Molson Coors on Wednesday afternoon.
The gunman died by suicide, bringing the total of known dead so far to six. Initial accounts from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel indicated at least seven had died, but that number has since been clarified.
The suspect was a 51-year-old Milwaukee man who died from a fatal gunshot wound, Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said. A statement from Molson Coors officials said the gunman was “an active brewery employee.”
Morales said around 6:45 p.m. that there were more than 20 buildings that needed to be secured on the Molson Coors campus, known to many locals as “the old Miller brewery.”
A checkpoint process for employees would take several hours to complete, he estimated.
Morales said officials believed the threat was contained and there was no threat to the public, although it was an “active and fluid scene.”
President Donald Trump addressed the shooting at a 6:30 p.m. ET news conference Wednesday: “Our hearts break for them and their loved ones. We send our condolences . ... It’s a terrible thing, terrible thing. So our hearts go out to the people of Wisconsin, and to the families.”
Employees were notified by email that an active shooter was in or near the second-floor stairwell of the sprawling factory’s Building 4. Police responded at 2:11 p.m.
Milwaukee police said in a Tweet at 4:37 p.m. that there was “no active threat.”
The scene was chaotic two hours after the initial report. Live video showed
an officer in body armor getting an assault rifle out of a car. Canines were on the scene. Helicopters hovered near the sprawling complex, which includes corporate offices and brewing facilities.
“The vile and heinous deadly violence that was perpetrated at the brewery complex today has no place in our society and makes no sense,” Ald. Russell Stamper said in a statement.
“The cold disregard for human lives and the lack of value for human life that was shown must be categorically denounced across Milwaukee, across Wisconsin and throughout our nation.”
Molson Coors Beverage Co. was formerly known as Miller-Coors, before a 2019 name change. It is part of a beerbrewing empire that is one of the largest in the world.
James Boyles spoke with the Journal Sentinel. He said his wife, Lasonya Ragdales, works at Molson Coors in the claims department. She has been told that there is an active shooter and she is locked in a room with co-workers. She was texting him from inside the building.
Paramedic units from Milwaukee and West Allis were dispatched to the scene along with officers from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, Marquette University Police Department and the U.S. Marshals. Officials with the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene.
Multiple nearby schools were locked down.
At Woodlands School Andre Kimbrough said his son was still inside the building. Kimbrough said he, along with many other parents, went to pick up their children at the end of school around 3:15 p.m. but got a call from school officials about the lockdown. Many parents were circling the block waiting for an all-clear.
Kimbrough said he could see a “stream of police cars,” ambulances and fire trucks. He felt good that the kids were safe inside.
“I’m more worried about how they feel,” Kimbrough said. “They must be kind of freaking out.”
Molson Coors Beverage Co., which operates MillerCoors, on Oct. 30 announced plans to close a Denver office and relocate hundreds of corporate support jobs to the Milwaukee office, 3939 W. Highland Blvd.
The brewer now has 610 jobs at the Milwaukee office. Corporate functions based there include human resources, financing and information technology. Also, the main brewery on West State Street and a smaller, recently expanded brewery together have 750 jobs.
The “Miller Valley” campus includes a 160-year-old brewery, underground caves, a Bavarian-style inn and a seasonal outdoor beer garden.
Joe Taschler, Tom Daykin, Jordyn Noennig, Ricardo Torres, Sarah Hauer, John Steppe and Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel staff. Grace Hauck and Joel Shannon reported for USA TODAY.