Five people were killed Wednesday when a shooter opened fire at the Molson Coors beer company complex in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin rejected new gun control laws. Then a mass shooting happened.
It’s at least the 11th mass shooting in the state since 2004.
According to local police chief Alfonso Morales, the shooter, a 51-year-old former employee of the brewery, also died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police began receiving reports of the shooting at around 2 pm local time Wednesday. Shortly after, employees at Molson Coors began receiving text messages warning them of the active shooter.
All five victims were employees of Molson Coors. None of the victims have been named thus far. Police have not yet discussed possible motives.
Molson Coors president and CEO Gavin Hattersley said that “corporate offices will be closed for the rest of the week and the breweries will remain closed for the time being,” according to CNN.
“There are no words to express the deep sadness many of us are feeling right now,” Hattersley said.
President Donald Trump expressed his condolences during a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday afternoon:
Our hearts go out to the families of those whose lives were senselessly taken, all of the folks and workers at Molson Coors, and the Milwaukee community as we grapple with yet another act of gun violence that will have long-lasting consequences for this community and our state.
It was at least the 11th mass shooting in Wisconsin since 2004. There have been 45 mass shootings in the US since the beginning of 2020.
And just hours before the shooting, Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called on lawmakers to push forward legislation aimed at tightening the state’s gun laws.
In response to Evers, “Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, made it clear that Wisconsin’s gun laws would not change under a Republican-controlled Legislature,” USA Today reported, “reminding voters of the longstanding divide that all but ensures deadly incidents like Wednesday’s aren’t going to spur new gun policies anytime soon.”
For more coverage on gun violence, visit Vox’s gun violence section.
