Armed suspect in custody for causing five Sussex school lockdowns was a former employee at the business he fired shots at, police say

Drake Bentley and Quinn Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read

Hartland Police Chief Torin J. Misko announced Tuesday that the man, accused of firing shots at a local business then leading authorities on a chase, resulting in five Sussex Hamilton schools going into lockdown last week, was a former employee at the business he fired shots at.

Misko is not identifying the suspect until he has been formally charged by the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office, but last week said he was a 37-year-old man.

Misko said the incident began last Thursday at Guthrie and Frey Water Conditioning, located at 1125 Richards Road, where "it appears the suspect was an employee there until 11/30/2018."

Misko and the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department held a news conference that evening where they said they responded, shortly before 2:30 p.m., for a report of shots fired. The man fled the scene, before being spotted by the sheriff's department, and a vehicle pursuit ensued, Misko said.

The man drove to Sussex and barricaded himself inside his home, located on Water Tower Court, Misko said.

During the chase, the sheriff's department placed Hamilton High School, Templeton Middle School, Silver Spring Intermediate School, Willow Springs Learning Center and Woodside Elementary School in lockdown.

According to Misko, the man was arrested at 4:25 p.m. shortly after barricading himself.

Woodside remained in lockdown for a longer period than the other schools because of the proximity to the incident, the sheriff's department said. Eventually, schools returned to normal procedure, but not before a modified student release was put into effect.

Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Man accused opening fire at a Hartland business was a former employee