Authorities in Brown County, Wisconsin identified the victims and the suspect in a shooting on Saturday near an area casino.
The killer was fired employee Bruce K. Pofahl, 62, said Sheriff Todd Delain. This suspect entered the Duck Creek Kitchen + Bar, went to a waiter station (which was open to the public), and fatally shot Ian J. Simpson, 32, and Jacob T. Bartle, 25, using a 9mm handgun. Just outside the complex to the north, he wounded Daniel L. Mulligan, 28, who is described as being in serious but stable condition at a hospital in Milwaukee.
A Green Bay police officer shot and killed Pofahl in a confrontation shortly after the suspect shot Mulligan, Delain said.
The sheriff described the area as being a large complex. The restaurant is inside the Raddison Hotel, which is connected to the Oneida Casino. The area includes a conference center, and banquet halls, with numerous entrance and exit points. Delain said several hundred people were in the conference area, including employees and patrons, a wedding party, and casino guests.
The motive remains under investigation. Pofahl was fired from the restaurant earlier this year, the sheriff said. Delain stopped short of calling this a “domestic” incident, and simply said the suspect knew at least one of the men. The sheriff did not name the person the suspect was targeting. Delain said authorities are aware that one of the restaurant employees had a restraining order against Pofahl.
As is normal for a police shooting, the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is looking into the killing of Pofahl by the Green Bay police officer. Delain commended the bravery of the 75 officers from multiple agencies who responded to the reports of the active shooter.
[Image of Oneida Casino via Andy Manis/Getty Images]
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