WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Waukesha Police Department is searching for suspects they say were involved in a “large-scale physical altercation” at Oak Hills Terrace Senior Living Center.
Police said a group of eight to 10 suspects forced their way into the building and began assaulting employees on Thursday, May 22.
Officers were called to the senior living center just after 1:30 p.m. after they received several calls about a chaotic fight involving multiple individuals in the facility’s lobby.
“We have received several 911 calls. One contained a lot of screaming. The second caller was not answering the phone. We are now receiving a third call that there was a fight,” a Waukesha County dispatcher said over the radio.
How it started
TMJ4 News reporter Rebecca Klopf spoke to an employee who wanted to remain anonymous because he said his employer asked him to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which he said he refused to sign. For the purpose of this story, we are calling him “John.”
“It was all-out chaos. It was an all-out melee,” John said, describing the attack.
Watch: Waukesha Police investigating coordinated attack at a nursing home
An initial investigation revealed the incident began as a dispute among several employees and escalated when a group of individuals forced their way into the building. John said it all began last week when two women physically fought in the parking lot after work.
“Her family came up yesterday, I guess for revenge,” John said.
John said when the suspects first arrived, he wasn’t sure what was happening. He never heard them say why they were there. He said he just saw them hitting people.
“They just get to swinging at everybody. It doesn’t matter who it is. Managers get hit, nurses get hit, aides get hit, kitchen people,” John said.
Police said multiple people were hurt, including facility employees and at least one child. From surveillance video, they believe eight to 10 people — both adults and juveniles — were involved.
One person was kicked in the head. Another had their phone stolen, which was later found destroyed on Interstate 94.
Ongoing investigation
Police are now searching for the suspects who are wanted on several charges, including battery, disorderly conduct and child abuse.
“This coordinated physical assault — which compromised the residents and staff — is not only reprehensible but will not be tolerated in our community,” said Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann.
John said he is speaking out because he believes the community has the right to know what is happening inside Oak Hills Terrace.
“These families — they are bringing their family members here and they entrust you to take care of their loved ones, and you have an all-out war going on in your building,” said John.
Now, John is worried about what the residents he helps take care of witnessed.
“They are up in age, mentally, physically. They deserve better than this stress that they received yesterday. They deserve better,” said John.
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