A warehouse worker at a Wisconsin supermarket killed two co-workers on Tuesday night before leading the police in a chase that ended in suicide, officials said.
Police officers in Oconomowoc, about 30 miles west of downtown Milwaukee, were called to the Roundy Distribution Center at 10:32 am for a “possible industrial accident” before “quickly learning” that “there was a crime involved,” police said in a demonstration.
The two victims were pronounced dead at the scene before a “potential suspect” was identified and located, triggering a chase, Oconomowoc police said.
“The suspicious vehicle crashed and the suspected suspect was pronounced dead at the scene due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” police said. “There is no active threat to the community at the moment and this incident is ongoing.”
The police declined to reveal further details about how the two workers were killed.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers confirmed in a statement on Wednesday afternoon that both victims were killed “by firearms”.
“Our hearts are with the two workers in Oconomowoc whose lives were taken away by armed violence today,” said Evers. “Kathy and I are thinking about them, their friends, their families and everyone affected by this tragedy.”
The names, ages and sex of the victims and the suspect were not immediately released. Teamsters Local 200 secretary-treasurer Thomas Bennett said the three were former employees, each with more than 20 years of service.
The victims “were found in the building in separate locations, each far from each other,” Bennett said in a statement to NBC News. “I am not aware of any immediate conflict between workers.”
“I will say this, when you have 750 workers coming and going, with 150 to 250 workers in the building at the same time, there are days when the best of the best are open for open debate, and there are days there there is no debate,” he said. “All three individuals were co-workers on the same shift and worked closely with each other, probably interacting during the shift like normal people do during the day.”
