4 die after domestic dispute escalates to shootings

WESTON, Wis. — A police officer and three other people were shot and killed when a domestic dispute at a bank escalated into shootings at three locations in northern Wisconsin on Wednesday, investigators said. A suspect was in custody.

The shootings happened at a bank, a law firm and an apartment complex, where officers, including a SWAT team, had a standoff with the suspect for several hours before it ended in a volley of gunfire around 5 p.m.

Authorities took no questions in a brief news conference late Wednesday and gave no details on the four victims or suspect. They said there was no remaining threat to the public. Jason Smith, a deputy administrator for the state Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation, said more than 100 officers were investigating and more information would be released Thursday.

The violence unfolded in a cluster of small towns south of Wausau, about 90 miles west of Green Bay. The officer worked for Everest Metro, a 27-officer force that serves Schofield and Weston.

“I would like to send all my thoughts and ask everybody listening, ‘Thoughts and prayers to all the victims and their families,’” Everest Metro Chief Wally Sparks said. “Please keep them in your prayers and be with our officers.”

The first shooting was reported shortly after midday at Marathon Savings Bank in nearby Rothschild. Officers responding to a reported “domestic situation” at the bank arrived to find two people had been shot. They said the suspect was gone when they arrived.

A second call came about 10 minutes later from the Tlusty, Kennedy and Dirks law firm in nearby Schofield. The third shooting happened at 1:30 p.m. at an apartment complex in Weston.