MILWAUKEE, WI — Five people were killed in a shooting at the Molson Coors Beverage Co. headquarters in Milwaukee Wednesday afternoon and the shooter, identified as a 51-year-old Milwaukee man who was an active brewery employee, was also found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

“This is a tragic day for our city, this is a tragic day for our state,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said at a press conference Wednesday night. “Six families will be grieving because of this horrific act by this individual. They thought they were going to go to work, finish their day and return to their families. They didn’t and tragically, they never will.”

Milwaukee police chief Alfonso Morales said his officers were called to the headquarters, located on the 4100 block of State Street just after 2 p.m. Wednesday for a report of the shooting. When they arrived, they found the body of a man lying on the ground with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“This is an unspeakable tragedy for our city. This is a community tragedy, and as we grieve for these families, we must remember the sacrifices they made,” Morales said.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors Gavin Hattersly sent an email to company employees Wednesday following the shooting.

“There are no words to express the deep sadness many of us are feeling right now. I am on my way to Milwaukee now because in the hours and days ahead, the most important thing is that we support and care for each other.” In the email, Hattersly said the Molson Coors Milwaukee office will be closed for the remainder of the week and the brewery will be shut down for the time being.

Even though the brewery and corporate offices will be shut down, Morales said there is still an active situation at the Molson Coors campus. Morales said the campus, which employs nearly 1,000 people in the area, has to be cleared one-by-one, and individual buildings cleared by law enforcement before the area is considered truly safe. As of Wednesday evening, there was still an unspecified number of employees interned on campus as part of the police investigation, Morales stated.

“Active Situation” Wednesday

Police initially described Wednesday’s mass shooting near the 4000 block of West State Street as a “critical incident.”

“There is an active situation at our Milwaukee facility, and we are working closely with the Milwaukee Police Department,” Molson Coors said in a late-afternoon statement. “Our top priority is our employees, and we’ll provide updates in conjunction with the police as we are able.”

Molson Coors top executives were in Houston for a company conference Wednesday. When news of the mass shooting broke, top executives told police they were flying back to the Milwaukee area the same day so they could work with law enforcement as well as be their for company employees. Morales, in the Wednesday night press conference, said he hoped to be able to deliver an update to the public once company executives arrived.

Milwaukee police and Barrett recommended that people continue to stay away from the immediate area and take Highland Boulevard as an alternate route through the area. The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office is also at the scene.

According to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, employees were told in an email that an active shooter “was located in or near South Packaging, Building 4, second-floor stairwell.” A man who spoke to the paper said his wife was locked in a room with co-workers.

Neighbors Were Put On Lockdown

Surrounding businesses and schools were placed on lockdown as police responded to the scene. Marquette University police responded to the shooting with Milwaukee police, but added that there was no active threat to the campus and no buildings were on lockdown.

Harley-Davidson’s headquarters were also locked down earlier Wednesday as a precaution. The Highway 175 exit to State/Vliet Street from Highway 175 North was also closed in the afternoon as a result of the shooting.

This is a developing story, please check back in for updates.

Reporting and writing from The Associated Press was used in this report. Gus Saltonstall contributed to this story.

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