Authorities in Milwaukee responded to a mass shooting at the Milwaukee campus of Molson Coors on Wednesday (February 26) afternoon. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, six people including the shooter were pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said the shooter was 51-years-old and died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooter was reportedly an employee who was fired earlier in the day. He allegedly came back while still wearing his uniform. It is unknown why he was fired.
“It is a horrible, horrible day for the employees here. It is a very rough day for anyone who is close to this situation,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said at the scene.
The suspect was reportedly armed with two handguns. One of the guns was .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun, and one of them was equipped with a silencer, a police source told the Sentinel.
Authorities said they are withholding the identity of the shooter and the victims while they notify their families. Over 1,000 people work at the facility and they still inside as officials work to identify everybody.
“This is a time for us to think about those families because there were five individuals who went to work today, just like everyone goes to work, and they thought they were going to go to work, finish their day and return to their families," Barrett said. "They didn’t, and tragically they never will.