2020 Milwaukee Brewery Shooting

On February 26, 2020, at approximately 2:10 pm, a mass shooting occurred at the Molson Coors Beverage Company brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee police responded to reports of gunfire and treated the incident as an active shooter situation. The company notified the public via Twitter shortly before 2:30 pm and informed the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by email that the shooter was located in or near the second-floor stairwell of Building 4 on the company campus. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were dispatched to the scene, and several nearby schools and businesses were placed on lockdown as the situation unfolded.

The five victims were male employees of the brewery, ranging in age from 33 to 61. The perpetrator was identified as 51-year-old Anthony Ferrill, who had worked as an electrician at the company for more than 20 years, including approximately 17 years at the Milwaukee campus. In 2015, a noose had been placed in Ferrill's locker. Police have not confirmed a motive for the shooting. Ferrill died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police.

The shooting prompted reactions from company leadership and public officials. Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley emailed all company employees expressing condolences and announcing that the plant would remain temporarily closed "to ensure our people have time to cope with today's events." Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers called the shooting "a tragedy for the entire state of Wisconsin," and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett described it as "an unspeakable tragedy for our city." Senator Ron Johnson posted on Twitter in the immediate aftermath that he was monitoring the "frightening situation at an iconic Milwaukee brewery." Senator Tammy Baldwin attended a vigil for the victims, telling attendees, "Tonight, we stand Milwaukee strong, inspired by the strength we find in each other and by the strength we gain by facing this tragedy of loss together." President Donald Trump extended condolences to those affected, referring to the shooter as a "wicked murderer."

Because the perpetrator died at the scene, no criminal charges were filed and no prosecution occurred. This dossier is based on a single detailed source (Wikipedia); two additional contemporaneous news reports from CNN and NBC News are cited as corroborating references but their specific text was not available for independent verification of individual claims.