Update: This story has been edited to reflect an accurate count of the victims, as well as the confirmation that the shooter was an employee of MillerCoors.
On Wednesday, police responded to a reported active shooter situation at MillerCoors headquarters in Milwaukee, WI. The Daily Mail noticed that the official Milwaukee Police Twitter account had tweeted that they were on the scene near the beer company’s headquarters in the early afternoon. It’s now confirmed that five people were shot by the gunman, who then killed himself.
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While the identities of all the victims are being withheld at the moment, CBS Chicago also confirmed that the gunman was a 51-year-old employee of MillerCoors.
According to the Milwaukee Sentinal Journal, employees were told to find a safe place to hide after the shooter opened fire. In an email, the company also indicated to employees that they were aware of their location, although the entire campus was placed on lockdown as a safety measure.
James Boyles, whose wife, Lasonya Ragdale, works in the company’s claims department, spoke with the outlet. In a series of texts with his wife, she indicated that she was locked in a mailroom with co-workers and that all employees had been alerted to the shooting. MillerCoors’ public relations has also confirmed that there was an incident.
The MSJ also reports that commanders of the Milwaukee Fire Department had also told dispatchers that multiple people were shot, according to emergency radio traffic provided by Broadcastify.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no further details were provided by the Milwaukee police, other than calling it a “critical incident.“
MPD is investigating a critical incident in the 4000 block of W. State Street. Please stay clear of the area at this time.
— Milwaukee Police (@MilwaukeePolice) February 26, 2020
In a follow-up tweet, they wrote that there was a media staging area nearby, stressing that “this is an active scene,” and offering an alternate route to local residents, encouraging them to stay away from the crime scene.
The MillerCoors headquarters is currently home to 610 jobs, including corporate functions including human resources, financing and information technology.
Earlier in February, there was a shooting in nearby Ohio where former Hollywood stuntwoman Cheryl Sanders and her husband, Robert Reed Sanders, were killed outside a prestigious home near the town Yellow Springs. The homeowner had a previous relationship with the stuntwoman and had told police years earlier that he believed she was stalking him.
