Multiple people dead, including shooter, Milwaukee mayor says
(CNN)Five employees were killed Wednesday when a gunman opened fire at the Molson Coors complex in Milwaukee, police said.
The suspected shooter, a 51-year-old man from Milwaukee, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police Chief Alfonso Morales told reporters.
«It’s a horrible, horrible day for the employees here,» Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters. «It’s a very rough day for anybody who’s close to this situation.»
The campus in Milwaukee comprises corporate offices and two breweries. More than 1,000 people were working there at the time of the shooting, officials said.
President Donald Trump called the shooter a «wicked murderer» and offered his «deepest condolences» to the victims and families.
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«Our hearts break for them and their loved ones,» Trump told reporters during a coronavirus briefing at the White House.
Police and several law enforcement agencies were responding to the Molson Coors complex.
For several hours, dozens of police officers, SWAT teams and FBI agents were seen walking in and near the sprawling complex of breweries and corporate offices.
Police have released few details but say there’s no active threat at the complex.
Molson Coors said it was working closely with police. «Our top priority is our employees and we’ll provide updates in conjunction with the police as we are able,» the company tweeted.
US Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin described the incident as a mass shooting.
«Gun violence has taken too many lives in Milwaukee and the mass shooting today is heartbreaking,» Baldwin tweeted. «I want to thank the first responders who ran into harm’s way and saved lives. My office is standing by to help the #MKE community in the wake of this tragedy.»
‘Find a safe place,’ texts warned employees
Several emergency text messages were sent to employees warning them of a shooter on the complex, CNN affiliate WITI reported.
«Find a safe place, active shooter on campus,» said one of the text messages shared with WITI.
Another employee, who was not at work at the time of the shooting, told CNN they began receiving texts and email communications about 2:18 p.m. (local time).
The first text indicated there was an active shooter in or near «South Packaging, building 4 2nd floor stairwell.»
Multiple local and federal law enforcement agencies — including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — rushed to the scene.
FBI Milwaukee is supporting police in the «very active scene,» spokesman Leonard Peace said.
The CEO of Molson Coors was heading back to Milwaukee from a company conference in Texas, according to a source familiar with the company. Gavin Hattersley was at the conference when he suddenly announced he was departing.
Molson Coors became the parent company of MillerCoors in 2016. Last year, Molson Coors announced it was retiring the MillerCoors name as part of a reorganization.
CNN’s Jamiel Lynch, Gigi Mann, Eric Levenson, Paul Murphy and Brynn Gingras contributed to this report.
