Milwaukee Coors brewery employees return to work after shooting
The gunman took his own life after fatally shooting five others at the brewery
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Molson Coors employees returned to work Monday amid heightened security at the Milwaukee brewery where a worker last week fatally shot five co-workers and then himself.
Additional guards, both armed and unarmed, were patrolling the grounds, according to a company email. Several Milwaukee police vehicles were stationed around the campus and outside the main office building. Employees drove past a security checkpoint and into fenced parking lots, which were filling with vehicles Monday morning.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
TAP | MOLSON COORS BEVERAGE CO. | 61.81 | -0.25 | -0.40% |
“We know that seeing police may feel unsettling after all you’ve been through, but I assure you they are here to help us and to support us,” the email to employees said.
Inside the main office lobby, security guards checked the bags of arriving visitors. Similar bag checks were being done at Molson Coors campuses nationwide, the email said.
While employees returned to the office Monday morning, Molson Coors said it planned to open the brewery Monday evening.
SHOOTING AT MOLSON COORS BREWING IN MILWAUKEE
Counseling services were being made available to employees.
"We recognize not everyone will feel ready to come back, and that’s absolutely fine. We want to help in any way we can and understand some people may need additional time.” the email said.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Molson Coors spokesman Marty Maloney said no employees were available to talk about their return to work.
On Sunday night, a couple hundred people gathered outside Milwaukee City Hall for a vigil in honor of the victims, the Journal Sentinel reported. They include Jesus Valle Jr., 33, of Milwaukee; Gennady "Gene" Levshetz, 61, of Mequon; Trevor Wetselaar, 33, of Milwaukee; Dana Walk, 57, of Delafield; and Dale Hudson, 60, of Waukesha.
MILWAUKEE MOLSON COORS BREWERY SHOOTER WAS EMPLOYEE, CEO SAYS
Union officials, politicians, clergy members and others spoke out against violence and hatred. Forward Latino President Daryl Morin said those in the crowd were not separated by political parties, the color of their skin or where they lived.
“We come together as Milwaukeeans. We come together as Wisconsinites,” Morin said. “We will show the nation what it means to be Milwaukee Strong.”
The gunman, Anthony Ferrill, 51, took his own life last Wednesday at the brewery.
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, whose congressional district includes the brewery complex, read the names of the victims, but not the shooter's. She said she was friends with Levshetz for 25 years and attended his funeral service Sunday.
"I speak their names to remember them, to cherish them," Moore said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Pardeep Singh Kaleka, executive director of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, told the crowd: "I know that our faith feels like it's being tested."
Kaleka introduced the clergy members, including Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Sikh, Jewish and Hindu, who each said prayers.
DO GUNS AND ALCOHOL MIX AT HOME? COURT HEARING MAN’S CASE
Kaleka's father, Satwant Singh Kaleka, was among six people fatally shot at a Sikh temple shooting in suburban Oak Creek in 2012. The gunman killed himself.