NewsMilwaukee Strong

Actions

Milwaukee Police Department believes race, racism 'not a factor' in Molson Coors shooting

Molson Coors
Posted at 4:53 PM, Mar 04, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-04 19:36:44-05

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Police Department has released a statement regarding the motive of the suspect involved in the Molson Coors mass shooting.

On Tuesday, Molson Coors executives said in 2015, a noose was placed on gunman Anthony Ferrill's locker when he was off work for the day.

"There aren't words to describe it, it's awful… our HR team brought it to his attention. We investigated it fully and tried to find video cameras and what we have inside the space to see if we could figure out who placed it there," said Chief Communications and Corporate Affairs Officer Adam Collins.

"As a result of the preliminary investigation, neither race nor racism has been identified as a factor in this incident," Milwaukee police write in a statement.

Here's the full statement:

The Milwaukee Police Department is aware of various claims regarding the motive of the suspect involved in the recent Molson Coors shooting incident on February 26, 2020. Various sources have reported that the suspect’s actions were racially motivated and that he was directly impacted by racism while working for the company.

Milwaukee Police detectives have interviewed several witnesses regarding the suspect’s actions and statements leading up to the incident. As a result of the preliminary investigation, neither race nor racism has been identified as a factor in this incident. This investigation remains ongoing.

Based upon the preliminary investigation, the Milwaukee Police Department is not aware of any of the victims targeted in the mass shooting being involved in any inappropriate or racist behavior toward the suspect. Therefore, the narrative of retaliation being the suspect’s motive has not been substantiated.

Additional information regarding this incident will be available once the investigation concludes. Until then, it is imperative to wait for the facts of the investigation to be released rather than speculating and generating a false narrative that could negatively impact the lives of the family members of the victims and of the suspect, as well as the employees of Molson Coors.

We continue to send our prayers to all of the families involved in this tragic incident as they grieve their loved ones.

WTMJ radio host John Mercure interviewed Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales on a possible motive in the Molson Coors mass shooting. Listen to the full interview below.

Report a typo or error