Noose found on Milwaukee shooter’s locker 5 years ago, company says
MILWAUKEE – The shooter who killed five people before killing himself last week at a brewery apparently wasn't influenced or motivated by retaliation for racist acts in the workplace, police said Wednesday.
"Milwaukee police detectives have interviewed several witnesses regarding the suspect’s actions and statements leading up to the incident," the department said in a statement, breaking days of silence on the investigation. "As a result of the preliminary investigation, neither race nor racism has been identified as a factor in this incident."
Based on the initial investigation, police officials are not aware "of any of the victims targeted in the mass shooting being involved in any inappropriate or racist behavior toward the suspect."
The investigation is ongoing.
In Milwaukee, a city known for its racial disparities, discussion on social media and elsewhere turned to the shooter's possible motive, and some former brewery workers described a hostile and, at times, racist work environment.
Molson Coors shooting: Milwaukee police identify the 5 victims
Tuesday, Molson Coors officials confirmed that five years ago, a noose was put on or in the shooter's work locker.
"The employee was not working that day, our HR team notified him of the incident, it was investigated fully," Adam Collins, chief communication and corporate affairs officer for Molson Coors, said in a statement.
Two former employees, Robert Powell and Lonnie Carl Jones, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that a few months after the noose incident, racist notes were put in the shooter's locker. Powell worked in sanitation at the complex from September 2014 to May 2018. Jones worked at the company from 2013 to 2019.
The police statement came a day after Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said he urged Police Chief Alfonso Morales to release more information about the investigation.
Wisconsin state Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, who is running against Barrett in April's mayoral election, said some of the shooter's co-workers told her that he was racially harassed at work and that there were broad problems with racism at the company.
In the statement Wednesday, police said additional information would 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," the department said.
All but one of the men the shooter confronted had been with the company six years or more. They all knew each other.
The shooter was identified as Anthony Ferrill, an electrician at the plant. His family declined interview requests and issued a statement offering condolences and sympathy for the victims and their families.
Contributing: Mary Spicuzza
Follow Ashley Luthern on Twitter: @aluthern.