Shooting at Molson Coors campus in Milwaukee kills six
A 51-year-old male employee of the company opened fire around 2pm local time at the Molson Coors facility, which is west of downtown Milwaukee. The gunman killed five other employees before killing himself.
This is the 11th mass shooting in Wisconsin in the last 20 years. There were no other reported injuries, but the facility was locked down for several hours.
All employees remaining at the brewery were accounted for and released by 9:30pm. The company verified the safety of more than 1,000 employees following the incident.
Local news outlets reported that Gavin Hattersley, CEO at Molson Coors, informed employees via email that the Milwaukee office would close for the rest of the week and the brewery will shut down ‘for the time being.’
Hattersley was attending a conference in Houston early Wednesday, but returned to Milwaukee after hearing of the shooting. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was also on the scene and called the incident ‘the saddest day we have had’ in the brewery’s 165 year history in the city.
Molson Coors released a statement on Twitter Wednesday evening from Hattersley, which read: “Earlier today we received news of an active shooter on our Milwaukee Brewery campus. The police have since confirmed the shooter, who was an active brewery employee, is now deceased. There is no longer an active threat and our employees are in the process of being released to go home to their families.
"Unfortunately, I am devastated to share that we lost five other members of our family in this tragic incident. The police are still working to notify their relatives, so I am unable to provide more information at this time.
"There are no words to express the deep sadness many of us are feeling right now. The most important thing is that we support and care for each other. We ask that everyone be respectful of how our colleagues in Milwaukee are feeling during this incredibly difficult time and do what you can to be supportive.
"Please hold your family members tight tonight and keep the families of our fallen teammates in your thoughts.”
