Oneida Casino Evacuated After Wisconsin Hotel Shooter Kills Two Victims

Posted on: May 1, 2021, 11:05h. 

Last updated on: May 2, 2021, 11:29h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Two people were shot dead and at least one was seriously wounded in a restaurant shooting at the Radisson Inn adjacent to the Oneida Casino in Ashwaubenon, Wisc. Saturday night, local police said. In addition, the shooter was killed by police at the scene.

The casino was evacuated
Two armed police officers stand guard following a shooting at a hotel near Wisconsin’s Oneida Casino. Two victims were killed. (Image: Tami Brown/WLUK)

The shooter was originally targeting a specific person. But that person was not present, so the shooter shot at the intended victim’s friends or co-workers who were at the restaurant, local police said.

A seriously wounded person was transported to a hospital. Doctors were treating the victim Saturday night.

Oneida Casino is a tribal gaming property near Green Bay. It is operated by the Oneida Nation. The casino and the Radisson hotel were evacuated following the gunfire. In a tweet, casino officials asked the public to avoid the area because of an “active shooter.”

Police and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the casino and hotel at about 7:30 p.m. Central Time Saturday, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette, a local newspaper.

Witnesses recounted the harrowing details. Max Westphal of Brownsville, Wisc. told the Press Gazette he was playing blackjack at the casino Saturday evening when the evacuation order was announced.

All of a sudden, a huge flurry of gunshots. Between 10 and 30 gunshots,” Westphal told the Press Gazette. “All you could smell outside was gun powder.”

Westphal added that he others around him ran from the area.

Assailant Shot Aggressively, Witness Says

Jawad Yatim, who was described by WLUK, another local TV station, as a witness to the restaurant shooting, told the Associated Press at least two people were shot.

I know for sure two, because it happened right next to us, literally right next to us,” Yatim said. “But he was shooting pretty aggressively in the building, so I wouldn’t doubt him hitting other people.”

“We got the hell out of there. Thank God we’re OK. But obviously we wish the best for everybody who’s been shot,” he said.

Taylor Schroeder was in a bingo hall at the casino complex. Schroeder said players were first put on lockdown with few details offered to the players, the Press Gazette said. They kept on playing bingo, and about 45 minutes later they were evacuated from the hall, the Press Gazette said.

Schroeder saw numerous fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars were at the scene.

I’m just glad we were able to evacuate so effectively and quickly,” Shroeder told the Press Gazette.

Melinda J. Danforth, director of intergovernmental affairs for the Oneida Nation, was quoted by NBC News that “Crowd control is an issue for us, because people are trying to see what’s happening.”

A reunification center was set up at the Bellin Health facility in Ashwaubenon, according to local news reports.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, D, tweeted on Saturday evening: “Scene at Oneida Casino … is contained. There is no longer a threat to the community.” He did not provide specific information on the shootings.

Also, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, D, tweeted,  he was “devastated” about the “tragedy.”

Prior Shootings

Nationwide, US casinos and areas adjacent to casinos have been the site of several shootings in recent years.

Most notable was on Oct. 1, 2017, when Stephen Paddock shot down at the crowd attending a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. He was in a 32nd-floor suite in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

It led to 58 deaths and several hundred injured. Later, Paddock was found dead in his hotel room.