WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A sacked employee opened fire at the Milwaukee campus of a big brewing company Wednesday and President Donald Trump said five people were killed.
Trump’s comments, at a press conference on the new coronavirus, were the
first official word on the toll in the latest spasm of America’s gun violence
epidemic.
“A wicked murderer opened fire at a Molson Coors brewing company plant,
taking the lives of five people, a number of people wounded, some badly
wounded,” Trump said.
Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett said earlier there were “multiple fatalities”
and he believed this included the shooter.
“It’s a horrible, horrible day for the employees,” he said, urging
residents to stay away from the area.
US media including ABC News and the local Fox affiliate reported the
shooter had been fired earlier in the day from the beer giant, which owns the Coors and Miller brands.
The local CBS affiliate said the shooter appeared to have stolen the
nametag of another employee, then returned to the office complex with a gun.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said six people were killed in the rampage,
in addition to the shooter. The local CBS affiliate said four people were
killed as well as the shooter.
Molson Coors said it was working with the police department, adding: “Our
top priority is our employees.”
Known until last year as MillerCoors, the beer company announced in
October 2019 that it would undergo a large restructuring and officially
changed its name to Molson Coors Brewing Co.
The company was expected to cut 400 to 500 jobs throughout the
organization during the restructuring.
The Milwaukee shooting is the latest in a long list of gun-related
violence in the US, which saw a record 417 mass shootings in 2019, according to the research group Gun Violence Archive. — NNN-AGENCIES
