3 Killed, At Least 3 Wounded In Kenosha County Bar Shooting; Person Of Interest Located
SOMERS, Wis. (CBS) -- Three people were killed and several more were wounded in a shooting early Sunday morning at a bar popular with college students in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
A person of interest has been located and will be charged, authorities said.
As CBS 2's Marissa Parra reported, the scene remained an active one more than 14 hours later. It was a complex one too, according to the Sheriff's office – alluding to multiple crime scenes.
#KENOSHA: shooter still at large. At least 3 were killed and 2 others wounded in overnight tavern shooting 12 hours later crime scene tape hasn't moved We're live at 5:30 on CBS Chicago
Posted by Marissa Parra on Sunday, April 18, 2021
The shooting took place just before 1 a.m. inside the Somers House, at 1548 Sheridan Rd. in the village of Somers, and another exchange of gunfire took place outside in the street.
The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department said late Sunday afternoon that it had learned there were six confirmed shooting victims and at least one unknown shooting victim. Three men were killed in the shooting and three more were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
Two of those shot died on the scene of the shooting. Another tried to drive to the hospital but died on the way.
The bar is popular with students who attend nearby Carthage College. The college was placed on lockdown, but that lockdown was later been lifted.
Family late Sunday identified one of the victims who was killed as Cedric Gaston. He was a little more than two weeks away from his 25th birthday and was a regular at Somers House, family said.
His brother and the mother of his son were in shock late Sunday.
"He was messaging me last night at 11. He wanted me to drop our son off to him today. And then by 1 o'clock, I was hearing that he was dead," said Katrina Haun. "They took my best friend away from me. My son has to grow up without a dad."
"He was very loved, lovable – he loved his kids. He loved his nieces and nephews. He loved his girl," said the victim's brother, Cartier Gaston.
Cartier Gaston said all of the victims were friends.
The identities of the suspect and the other two victims have not been released. But we have seen several neighbors who live nearby laying flowers and trying to piece together what happened.
"Pretty close to midnight, I'd just crawled into bed," said witness and neighbor Peter Ploskee. "Next thing you know, I hear just a bunch of shots going off."
Those shots, of course, claimed three lives. The chaos of the moment was vaguely captured from afar on Ploskee's Ring doorbell camera.
Flashes of light seen at the top right of the doorbell camera video are from gunshots, according to Ploskee.
"Look out the window and just see people running from the bar in every direction; people screaming," he said.
Ploskee was witnessing from across the street what witnesses like Heidi Wittwer were experiencing from inside.
"All I saw was we were told to duck and then everyone started running, and we all just ran - very fast," said Wittwer, a Carthage College student.
Local and state response was swift, but information about the suspect has been slow to come out.
County Sheriff David Beth said the shooting took place after a man was removed from the bar.
"At first, there was a fight that broke out between two individuals right next to the bar," Wittwer said. "They were removed by security."
Officials believe the shooter left and got a gun or multiple guns and returned to the bar and started shooting.
"Everything was fine for about 15 or so minutes, and then we were told to duck - there was a shooter," Wittwer said.
Detectives and other law enforcement officers spent the day conducting interviews and collecting evidence from the crime scene – including impounding several vehicles.
The Sheriff's office said a person of interest has been located and will be charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide. There was no ongoing threat to the community, the Sheriff's office said.
Meanwhile, the emotional toll from the night on those who witnessed the shooting was clear.
"I really hope people take away that they need to wake up," Wittwer said. "I mean, this is ridiculous. There shouldn't be shootings at a college bar."
Identities of the remaining victims had not been released late Sunday because the Sheriff's office said they have had trouble contacting the victims' family members.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department at (262) 605-5100 or make an anonymous call to the Kenosha County Crime Stoppers at 262-656-7333.