Rooftop Party Tragedy: 10 INJURED IN WISCONSIN SHOOTING, Police Confirm
According to authorities, a shooting happened at an overnight party on the rooftop of an apartment building in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, injuring at least ten people.
As the victims, some as young as 14 years old, recuperate from their injuries (none of which are life-threatening), authorities are seeking the public for any information or footage that will help them identify a suspect.
“It is truly a miracle that no one is dead,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said during a press conference Sunday morning. When the gunfire began shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, emergency responders responded to what authorities suspect was a high school graduation party.
According to Barnes, police discovered one adolescent bleeding from several gunshot wounds on the street and rushed him into the Johnson Street apartment building. “Officers watched as dozens of people rushed out of the building, running in panic and tripping over one another, simply trying to find safety,” according to him.
Police reported seeing a chaotic situation after sprinting up 12 flights of stairs to reach the partygoers. Authorities estimated that there were several hundred people on the roof.
Police said the victims ranged in age from 14 to 23 years old, with some still in high school. Barnes said nine people were wounded or grazed by bullets, and one was injured by broken glass at the site.
“These students should have been celebrating summer vacation and not receiving medical treatment,” he stated to reporters.
The Madison Fire Department said it transported five patients with gunshot wounds to the hospital by ambulance, while other victims arrived on their own. The agency said in a statement that four ambulances and two engine companies assisted with triage, treatment, and transportation of victims on the scene.
“Some people on scene suffered minor injuries while attempting to run away from the scene but did not request EMS,” the statement continued.
Authorities discovered around ten shell casings at the location and are reviewing apartment and public surveillance footage to try to put together what happened, Barnes said. With no stated motive or suspects, authorities are encouraging anyone who captured video of the occurrence to come forward.
“Whenever there’s someone who’s fired a gun indiscriminately like this, there’s always a threat to the community,” Barnes stated. “We’re going to work to ensure that whoever is responsible for this is brought to justice, but we can only do that with the help of our community.”
The Madison police and fire departments collaborated earlier this year to train for a circumstance like this one, Barnes said, “however, we didn’t expect to put it into practice so soon.”
Alder When Mike Verveer, Madison’s Common Council representative for downtown, arrived, he found many law enforcement agencies on the scene.
“I was laying in my bed at home… I heard siren after siren roll by and through the neighborhood, and I had no idea it could be something as horrific as what I heard, which was a mass shooting,” Verveer added. “I was completely horrified. I was really terrified, and the sirens did not stop.”