Sheriff: 3 dead, 3 wounded in shooting at Wisconsin tavern

KENOSHA, Wis. - One person has been taken into custody in connection with a shooting at a busy tavern in southeastern Wisconsin on Sunday, April 18 that left three men dead and three others injured.

Kenosha County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. David Wright said the suspect is facing one charge of first-degree intentional homicide, with additional criminal charges likely after further investigation. 

"There is no threat to the community at this time," Wright said in a release. He said no further information on the suspect would be released Sunday.

Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said a suspect was asked to leave The Somers House Tavern in Kenosha County but returned and opened fire. Beth said shots were fired inside and outside the bar, which he described as "very busy" at the time. He said he believed at least one handgun was used.

Kenosha is about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Milwaukee, not far from the Wisconsin-Illinois border.

Officials originally said two people were injured but said they were checking with hospitals for people who may have been hurt in the shooting. Wright said in the updated press release that authorities believe there is at least one "possible unknown shooting victim."

Beth said two people died at the scene. The third person hopped in a car with two other people, who moments later flagged down a police vehicle. The officer drove the victim to a hospital where that person was pronounced dead, Beth said.

Wright said investigators have reviewed surveillance video from the scene. He called it a complex investigation that involves several crime scenes.

"Detectives have followed up on multiple leads and gathered surveillance video evidence during extensive neighborhood canvasses," he said.

A man who lives near the bar, Peter Ploskee, said he heard gunshots, looked out a window and saw "people running from the bar in every direction."

"It was just chaos," he said. "People are just running, people screaming."

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called it a "senseless tragedy" and said he and his wife are "thinking of the families and loved ones affected and the entire Kenosha community as they grieve and grapple with yet another tragic incident of gun violence."

It was the latest in a recent string of shootings across the country, including the killings of eight people at a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis on Thursday. Last month, four people were killed at an office shooting in California, eight people were fatally shot at massage businesses in the Atlanta area, and 10 died in gunfire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.

The nearby city of Kenosha was the scene of serious unrest last summer, after police shot a young Black man, Jacob Blake, leaving him paralyzed. A white Illinois teenager was accused of fatally shooting two people during the Kenosha protests. Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch is charged with homicide and attempted homicide in the Aug. 25 shootings. He has pleaded not guilty and says he fired in self-defense.

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