On Thursday, Milwaukee Police identified the man who they say shot and killed five people at the MillerCoors facility Wednesday.
Police on Thursday identified the gunman in the Milwaukee brewery shooting as an electrician whose home was searched Thursday. He was a current employee at Molson Coors.
Milwaukee police Chief Alfonso Morales identified the shooter as Anthony Ferrill, 51.
In a Thursday news conference, Morales identified the victims as Molson Coors Brewing Co. employees ranging in age from 33 to 57. The victims are Jesus Valle, 33, Gene Levshetz, 51, Travor Wetselaar, 33, Dana Walk, 57, and Dale Hudson, 50. Morales said investigators had not determined a motive.
“Today, 18,000 at Molson Coors are grieving over yesterday’s shooting that took the lives of our families in Milwaukee,” Molson Coors President Gavin D. Hattersley said.
What happened Wednesday?
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the shooting happened near the second-floor stairwell of the facility's Building 4 in the 3900 block of West State Street. Police arrived about 2:11 p.m. Employees, who had been on lockdown since then, were released by about 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was on the scene Wednesday evening.
“It is a horrible, horrible day for the employees here. A very rough day for anyone who is close to this situation,” he told reporters.
Credit: WISN-TV via AP
Credit: WISN-TV via AP
Alderman Russell Stamper, whose district includes the brewery, shared condolences for the families and employees at MillerCoors on Wednesday evening via a statement.
The vile and heinous deadly violence that was perpetrated at the brewery complex today has no place in our society and makes no sense," Stamper said. "The cold disregard for human lives and the lack of value for human life that was shown must be categorically denounced across Milwaukee, across Wisconsin and throughout our nation."
What are coworkers saying about the suspect?
A co-worker of Ferrill's, who did not want to be identified, told USA Today that about a year ago, Ferrill started having suspicions about brewery works breaking into his home and tampering with his computer and chairs.
“I was, ‘Are you serious, Anthony?’ What? We all kind of joked about it, saying we should maybe get him an aluminum hat. Things just started getting weird. But he was dead serious about it,” the co-worker said.
Others said they knew Ferrill to be a kind and easygoing co-worker.
"He was a very good electrician, a very good worker, and I couldn’t say anything bad about the guy," Phillip Rauch Sr., who retired in April after working with Ferrill for 15 years, told the publication. “Every time I worked with him, he was always in a good mood.”
About Molson Coors
The brewing facility employs about 1,400 people at the Milwaukee location. “Miller Valley” features a 160-year-old brewery, with a packaging center that fills thousands of cans and bottles every minute and a distribution center the size of five football fields.
In November, the MillerCoors, also known as Molson Coors, company announced 500 salaried jobs would be eliminated during a two-month period due to declining sales. Prior to that announcement, there were 800 full-time positions eliminated, according to Forbes.
While much remains unknown, local officials and Democratic presidential candidates are already calling for changes to stop deadly mass shootings.
“We know that our country needs to do more to prevent senseless gun violence,” wrote Rep. Gwen Moore (D), who serves Wisconsin’s 4th District, late Wednesday evening. “It’s a cruel irony that tomorrow marks the anniversary of the House passing legislation to expand background checks on guns, which is languishing in the Senate.”
