[Jimmy Paterson]

[quote:db242]BROOKFIELD, Wis.(AP) A gunman opened fire Saturday at a church service being held at a hotel, killing four people and sending several others to hospitals, authorities said.

The gunman then apparently shot and killed himself, said Daniel Tushaus, chief of the Brookfield Police Department.

"There is nobody else being sought at this time as a suspect," he said.

Seven to eight people, ranging from their early teens to their 60s, were taken to hospitals in serious condition, he said.

The shooting was reported to police shortly before 1 p.m. Tushaus said it occurred during a regularly scheduled church service at the Sheraton hotel.

Some guests remained locked in their rooms after police surrounded the building and would not allow anyone to enter or leave.

Karen Suick, 48, said she arrived at the hotel Friday night with 15 players and parents for a hockey tournament.

"One of our hockey dad's two daughters are still in there," she said. "They called his cell phone. They were OK, but they were told to go back to their room. So that's what they did."

At least two church groups were holding meetings in the hotel at the time of the shootings, police said.

Brookfield is a western suburb of Milwaukee.[/quote:db242]



another thing to happen in wisconsin....

[ninty]

all these death topics are making me depressed

[9mm BeRetTa]

Originally Posted by ninty9

all these death topics are making me depressed

yea really

feel sorry for all these people

[Jimmy Paterson]

** Update **

[quote:da09a]BROOKFIELD, Wis.(AP) A gunman opened fire Saturday at a church service being held at a hotel, killing seven people before taking his own life, authorities said.

Officers found four people and the gunman dead when they arrived about 1 p.m. at the Sheraton hotel. Three others died later at a hospital, said Daniel Tushaus, chief of the Brookfield Police Department.

"There is nobody else being sought at this time as a suspect," he said.

The victims were all in the same room at the hotel, Tushaus said. The suspect, a man of about 45 who was armed with a handgun, was affiliated with the church, which had been meeting at the hotel every Saturday morning for four or five years.

Tushaus did not identify the victims but gave approximate ages. Two boys ages 15 and 17, a 72-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman died at the hotel. Three men ranging in age from 44 to 58 died later at a hospital.

Four other people were hospitalized in serious condition.

Some hotel guests remained locked in their rooms after police surrounded the building and would not allow anyone to enter or leave.

Karen Suick, 48, said she arrived at the hotel Friday night with 15 players and parents for a hockey tournament.

"One of our hockey dad's two daughters are still in there," she said. "They called his cell phone. They were OK, but they were told to go back to their room. So that's what they did."

After the shootings, police removed a pickup truck from the hotel parking lot.

Officers also searched a two-story house in the neighboring community of New Berlin, but investigators refused to comment on whether the home was connected to the shootings.

New Berlin Mayor Telesfore Wysocki said police told him the gunman lived in that neighborhood with his mother and sister, who were being interviewed by officers as police collected evidence at the man's house.
"We are in total shock and disbelief," the mayor said.

Authorities said they would not release any more information about the shootings until a Sunday morning news conference.

At least two church groups were holding meetings in the hotel at the time of the shootings, police said.

The shootings took place during a meeting of the Living Church of God, a group based in Charlotte, N.C.

"We don't even know all that has gone on, but it's devastating," said Lara Prejean, a church member who lives in Monroe, N.C.

Brookfield is a western suburb of Milwaukee.

___

Associated Press writer Carrie Antlfinger in Brookfield and Juliet Williams in Wauwatosa contributed to this report.[/quote:da09a]