Wisconsin shooting: two dead after incident at Oneida casino near Green Bay

Two people have been shot dead at a casino in Wisconsin, police said, in the latest shooting incident to hit the United States.

The suspected gunman was also shot dead by police after he opened fire on Saturday evening in the dining room of the Radisson hotel section of the Oneida casino, near Green Bay in the northern part of the state.

Lt Kevin Pawlak of the Brown County sheriff’s office said investigators believe the gunman was targeting a specific person he was angry at, but the person wasn’t at the casino at the time. Instead the gunman decided to shoot some of the intended victim’s friends or co-workers, police said. One other person was injured.

Pawlak said it was not clear if the shooter was a former employee of the restaurant or casino, but said “there’s some relationship that had to do with employment”.

“Whether or not they all worked there, we’re still working on,” he said.

Jawad Yatim, a witness, said he saw at least two people shot.

“I know for sure two, because it happened right next to us, literally right next to us,” Yatim said. “But he was shooting pretty aggressively in the building, so I wouldn’t doubt him hitting other people.”

Yatim said the shooting began in a casino restaurant.

“We got the hell out of there, thank God we’re OK, but obviously we wish the best for everybody who’s been shot,” he said.

Wisconsin’s attorney general, Josh Kaul, tweeted shortly before 10pm local time that the scene was contained.

“There is no longer a threat to the community,” he said.

Louise Cornelius, the casino’s gaming general manager, said on Facebook that “our hearts are breaking” over the incident but did not give any more details.

“It is with great distress that I post this message to our gaming employees and their families,” she wrote. “Our hearts are breaking over the terrible incident that occurred this evening at the Radisson hotel and conference center. Please know that support will be provided to all Gaming employees who are affected by this situation. More information will be posted as soon as it is available.”

Wisconsin’s state governor, Tony Evers, issued a statement late on Saturday saying he was “devastated” to hear about the shooting, but gave no details.

“While we are waiting for more information, we hope and pray those who were injured will recover and are grateful for the first responders who quickly responded to the situation.”

The Oneida casino is operated by the Oneida nation. The casino is connected to a large hotel and conference centre, the Radisson, also owned by the Oneida nation.

Max Westphal, who was gambling at the casino, said he was standing outside after being evacuated for what he thought was a minor issue.

“All of a sudden we hear a massive flurry of gunshots — 20 to 30 gunshots for sure,” Westphal told WBAY-TV. “We took off running towards the highway ... There had to have been 50 cop cars that came by on the highway. It was honestly insane.”

It follows a spate of mass shootings in the US, including the massacre of eight workers at a FedEx depot in Indianapolis two weeks ago and that of 10 people at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado in March.

Earlier on Saturday two men suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting at a shopping mall in Tukwila near Seattle in what police described as apparently isolated violence.