Officer Among 4 Killed In Marathon County Shootings

Four people, including a police officer, were shot and killed in a Wednesday afternoon incident in northern Wisconsin that apparently began as a domestic dispute at a bank, authorities say.

Everest Metro Police Chief Wally Sparks said the slain officer was from his department. Sparks did not release the officer’s name. The names of the other three dead also were not released.

Sparks said a suspect was in custody.

The violence in the small town of Rothschild began shortly after noon Wednesday, after police were summoned to what they called a “domestic situation” at Marathon Savings Bank.

Police say they arrived at the bank to find two people with gunshot wounds and the suspect gone. Authorities say a second shooting happened soon after at a nearby law firm and a third at an apartment complex. The area is about 90 miles west of Green Bay.

WSAW-TV reported about a dozen gunshots were heard outside the apartment complex at about 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Around 8 p.m., authorities announced that four people had been killed and a suspect had been taken into custody.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, Gov. Scott Walker called the events tragic and sent his condolences.

“This was a horrific act of violence that tragically took the lives of four innocent people. On behalf of the entire State of Wisconsin, Tonette and I send our thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims, to Chief Wally Sparks and all members of the Everest Metropolitan Police Department, and to the Rothschild, Schofield, and Weston communities. We want you to know that we all stand with you and seek to comfort you as you mourn the loss of your loved ones.”

The violence put the community in a state of high alert for much of Wednesday afternoon and evening. Schools in the D.C. Everest School District were placed on lockdown, as was Aspirus Wausau Hospital, before hospital authorities determined no one was in immediate danger, reopening in the late afternoon.

The Wausau Police Department posted a message on Facebook saying the situation was still active and asked residents to avoid the area.

Mike Andreske, assistant manager at the Budge Inn Motel across the street from the bank, said he was at the Subway located in the same minimall as the bank when a woman ran inside the restaurant claiming her husband was trying to kill her.

“She came in, running into the Subway saying, ‘Help, my husband is trying to kill me, please call 911.’ And, that’s when I saw the manager grab the phone and called, and that’s when the cops were already there, like within not even a minute,” Andreske recounted.

Andreske said police then showed up, had the woman leave with law enforcement and then locked the restaurant down for about 30 minutes before letting Andreske go back to work.

Editor’s Note: This story was last updated at 9:56 a.m. Thursday, March 23, with comments from Gov. Scott Walker. It will continue to be updated with additional information as WPR learns more.