MILWAUKEE — A worker shot and killed two colleagues at a supermarket distribution center near Milwaukee before crashing his vehicle during a police pursuit and then killing himself, a union official and police said Wednesday.
The attack happened Tuesday night at the Roundy’s distribution center in Oconomowoc, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Milwaukee, said Thomas Bennett, secretary-treasurer of General Teamsters Local Union No. 200. He said all three men were in their 40s.
Oconomowoc police said the suspect’s vehicle was spotted in Milwaukee after the attack and officers began to pursue it. The vehicle crashed and the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to authorities, who didn’t release the names of any of the shooter or victims.
Abby Pavlik, a spokeswoman for the police department in Wauwatosa, a Milwaukee suburb, told reporters that officers from that department spotted the vehicle around 4:45 a.m. and helped in the pursuit.
Investigators learned that the suspect lived in Wauwatosa executed a search warrant at his home, she said. The Wauwatosa Police Department tweeted at around 1 p.m. that the search had ended without incident. Pavlik didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking further information.
Union stewards said the two men were shot in different areas of the massive warehouse, according to Bennett. One was shot in the loading dock and the other was shot in an upper area of the facility.
Bennett said he was unaware of any dispute between the shooter and the victims, who were all members of the union.
“All three of these workers were very important during this pandemic because they worked very hard to serve our community,” Bennett said, adding that it often meant long hours.
“Maybe things wear on you after while,” Bennett said.
Authorities have released few details about the attack, which led to a temporary lockdown of the facility.
The Roundy’s complex employs close to 1,000 people, according to the Journal Sentinel. Roundy’s is a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger, which operates Pick ’n Save and Metro Market stores in Wisconsin and Mariano’s grocery stores in northern Illinois.
