The Milwaukee Police Department says that in its preliminary investigation of the deadly shootings at Molson Coors which took five lives last week, “neither race or racism has been identified as a factor in this incident.”
Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales tells WTMJ’s John Mercure that the early phases of the investigation of the Molson Coors shooting do not reveal any evidence that race was a motivating factor.
In response to numerous reports of racially-motivated actions by suspect Anthony Ferrill, MPD released a statement saying that they have not found evidence of “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.”
When discussing why he does not believe that race was involved Morales gave two anecdotes. He said that the shooter had recently picked up one of the victims when he had car trouble. Morales said that one of the victims had also recently bought the shooter lunch as a thank you for a car repair.
Morales told Mercure that it is much more likely that mental health was the major factor in the tragedy. The Chief also said that an argument could have been a contributing factor.
Two Milwaukee Police Department detectives have been assigned to look for definitive answers in the shooting. The investigation could take several weeks.
Read the full statement from MPD below:
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.
