MILWAUKEE – Three people were dead and a manhunt was underway after a gunman opened fire at a busy Kenosha County tavern early Sunday.

At least two people were seriously injured, Sheriff David Beth said. No arrests had been made, and investigators said it was possible there was more than one gunman. About 100 officers hunted for suspects.

Residents near Somers House Tavern in the village of Somers, 30 miles south of Milwaukee, probably were not at risk, Beth said.

“This appears to be a targeted and isolated incident,” Beth said. “We do not believe there is a threat to the community.”  

The rampage was the latest of several shooting attacks across the nation, including one at a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis last week that left eight people dead. Mass killings have claimed four or more American lives every week for the past six weeks, leaving dozens dead and several more people wounded.

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In Kenosha, Beth said a patron “wasn’t cooperating with the management” at the tavern, then left. The man returned a short time later, around 12:45 a.m., and began shooting, he said. Shots were fired inside and outside the tavern, leading investigators to believe more than one shooter could have been involved, Beth said.

Videos taken by bystanders and posted to social media after the shooting show a tumultuous scene. Emergency crews took at least two people out of the tavern with injuries, and another victim received CPR just outside the front door. 

Peter Ploskee, who lives near the bar, said he leaped to his feet and ran to his window after hearing the first shots. 

“Just see people running from the bar in every direction,” he told WLS-TV. “It was just chaos. People running every direction possible, so you know, who’s who? Is that the guy? Is this the guy? People are just running, people screaming.”

Beth said the tavern installed video cameras a couple of years ago and investigators were reviewing any video they could obtain. 

The tavern is less than half a mile north of Carthage College on Sheridan Road. The school went into lockdown after the shooting, Beth said.

The shooter or shooters apparently knew the victims, Beth said. He did not know whether the victims knew their attackers. Authorities had not released the names of the victims Sunday morning.

Beth said it was possible that other patrons suffered injuries not reported to authorities.  Investigators asked hospitals to notify them of any additional gunshot victims.

One of the victims got into a car after being shot and was driven away from the scene by bystanders, Beth said. The driver flagged down an officer on the way, and the officer drove the person to a hospital. The person died before arriving.

Beth said the bar was “very busy” at the time of the shooting, but he did not have any more information about how many people were there.

The nearby city of Kenosha was the scene of unrest last summer after a police officer shot Jacob Blake, who was left paralyzed. The police officer who shot Blake in the back in August has returned to regular duty and won’t face any criminal charges or administrative discipline.

An Illinois teen was accused of fatally shooting two people during protests sparked by Blake’s shooting. Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch is charged with homicide and attempted homicide.

Bacon reported from Arlington, Virginia. Contributing: Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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