Shooting outside Wisconsin senior home leaves 4 hurt

A resident shot three neighbors before turning the gun on himself, police say.

September 17, 2020, 4:46 PM

Wisconsin authorities are investigating a Wednesday shooting outside a senior citizens facility where a resident allegedly shot three neighbors before turning the gun on himself.

Deputies with the Dodge County Sheriff's Office said they received a 911 call at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, saying there had been a shooting in the parking lot of the Spring Glen Apartments in Mayville, a quiet city of around 5,000 located about 50 miles northwest of Milwaukee.

The suspect, described as a 72-year-old white male, allegedly shot the victims and then himself after getting into an argument, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which is investigating the case alongside local authorities. The victims were described as two white women, ages 53 and 64, and a 67-year-old Asian American man.

Investigators said the individuals all knew each other, but did not offer details about the motive behind the shooting. All four are expected to survive their injuries.

Authorities preformed "lifesaving measures" on the scene before airlifting the four to local hospitals, state DOJ officials said in a statement Thursday. They said the investigation is ongoing and declined to offer any additional details.

Emergency crews work the scene where four people were shot on Horicon St. in Mayville, Wis., Sept. 16, 2020.
Doug Raflik/USA Today Network

"Three individuals were in a parking lot when a fourth individual, a 72-year-old white male, approached, and the group argued. The man brandished a firearm and shot the three individuals and then shot himself," the statement said.

The building is an assisted living facility for the elderly, according to its website.

Witnesses said the four people involved were all residents of the apartment building, according to ABC affiliate WISN. One neighbor said she saw one of the victims, a female, laying on the ground.

"All I keep seeing when I try to go to sleep was her laying there on the ground and them telling me I couldn't get outside and this was a shooting. And then I'm like, 'Oh my god, a shooting here,'" witness Diane Diels told WISN.

Another woman told the affiliate that her aunt was one of the victims, and that she was currently in a coma and suffering from gunshot wounds to the leg and chest. Authorities, however, released no information about the conditions of those involved.

Mayville Mayor Rob Boelk told The Associated Press that he was surprised by the shooting. Between 2015 and 2019, the city had only a single homicide, according to the AP.

"This is Mayville," Boelk said. "We don't ever really have anything like that take place in town."

Boelk told the AP he didn't know any details about the shooting beyond the information released by authorities. He said the gunman was under armed guard at the hospital where he's being treated, but he didn't know the conditions of those involved in the shooting.

Spring Glen Apartments did not immediately respond to voicemail messages requesting comment.