Wisc. Man Kills 5 in Shooting at Brewery

New York Daily News

A worker at a Milwaukee brewery shot five coworkers dead before killing himself Wednesday, authorities said.

The shooting sent the sprawling Molson Coors beer factory on the city’s west side into lockdown and generated a furious response from police and first responders.

Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales identified the shooter as a 51-year-old Milwaukee man. The names of the attacker and his victims were not immediately released by officials.

“This is a tragic day for our city,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters. “This is a tragic day for our state.”

Milwaukee police responded to the brewery around 2:08 p.m. local time. About a half-hour later, the cops tweeted that a “critical incident” was taking place at the beer manufacturer.

The police asked people to avoid the area. Nearby schools were locked down.

Marquette University police responded to the shooting along with the city’s cops. The Catholic school is nestled near the heart of the city.

The Chicago division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded.

Molson Coors Beverage, based in Chicago, operates MillerCoors. At least 600 people work at the Milwaukee complex, according to The Associated Press.

The 20-building brewing campus sits on the 4000 block of West State St., about two miles west of downtown Milwaukee, in the Miller Valley—a neighborhood that bears the moniker of the 165-year-old Miller Brewing Company.

Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley said the shooter was an active employee, according to the AP. But no motive was established in the deadly attack.

The scene remained active long after nightfall, according to authorities, but the threat had subsided.

On Wednesday evening, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was following the shooting, and the California Democrat called on Congress to take action on gun violence.

“Our prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones and the first responders protecting the community,” Pelosi said in a tweet.

President Donald Trump also offered his condolences before beginning a previously scheduled White House briefing on the coronavirus.

“It’s a terrible thing,” Trump said. “Our hearts go out to the people of Wisconsin.”

Gabby Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who suffered a severe brain injury in 2012 when she was shot in an assassination attempt, said she was heartbroken after the Milwaukee attack.

And the 49-year-old gun-control advocate called for action.

“I’m fed up this keeps happening,” Giffords tweeted, “when we know there are laws that would save lives.”