By Shereen Siewert
WESTON – (Updated 4:38 p.m.) Department of Justice officials have identified all four victims of yesterday’s shooting rampage that started at a Rothschild bank and ended at a Weston apartment complex.
Veteran Everest Metro Police Detective Jason Weiland, a field training officer and member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), was shot and killed while responding to the call. Weiland spent 15 years with Everest Metro.
Police Chief Wally Sparks choked back tears when he spoke about his fallen detective, the first in his department to be killed in the line of duty.
“Jason was a phenomenal officer,” Sparks said. “He was a part of our family.”
Two victims were shot and killed at Marathon Savings Bank: Dianne M. Look, 67, and Karen L. Barclay, 62. Both Look and Barclay were employees at the bank, where police were first called to a report of a domestic disturbance on Wednesday afternoon.
A fourth victim has been identified as 43-year-old Sara H. Quirt Sann, an attorney who rented space at the law offices of Tlusty, Kennedy & Dirks, S.C. Sann was representing the suspect’s wife in divorce proceedings, which were initiated by the suspect in June 2015, online court records show.
Citing the ongoing investigation, officials are so far declining to identify the suspect, except to say that he is a 45-year-old Weston man. The suspect was shot during an exchange of gunfire while he was being apprehended, and has not yet been interviewed by police.
DCI spokesman Jason Smith said the suspect is under “intense medical care” and that officers involved are on paid administrative leave, as is protocol for any officer-involved shooting.
For the time being, police services for Everest Metro residents will be provided by members of multiple police departments including officers from Wausau, Marathon County, Lincoln County and Merrill, among others, said Marathon County Sheriff Scott Parks.
“We are all one united team,” Parks said.
The state Department of Criminal Investigation is spearheading the effort to piece together the details surrounding the shootings, which spanned three locations in Rothschild and Weston.
Smith described the rampage as a domestic incident and said the wife of the suspect was not harmed. Officers are conducting dozens of interviews, Smith said, and the investigation is still in its early stages.
Meanwhile, condolences are pouring in from across the state. Gov. Scott Walker sent a Tweet at 1:51 p.m. today sending prayers to the family of Det. Weiland and to all law enforcement in Wisconsin. Walker has also ordered flags be flown at half staff in honor of the fallen officer.
Attorney General Brad Schimel issued this statement in response to the tragedy:
“The law enforcement officers who responded to yesterday’s devastating shootings are our society’s most courageous leaders, and the officer with the Everest Metropolitan Police Department who lost his life protecting his community will forever be remembered a hero.
“I pray for the four victims, and their family, friends, and colleagues, as well as the countless law enforcement officers who restored peace and order to the Wausau community in the wake of these attacks and continue the difficult work of investigating this tragedy.”
Parks said area departments have been both gratified and overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and generosity from members of the community.
“That caring action is demonstrated each day in this community,” Parks said.
A candlelight vigil is being planned for 7 p.m. Sunday outside the Everest Metro Police Department, 5303 Mesker St., Weston. North Central Health Care is also providing crisis counseling for those affected by the tragedy.
How the shooting unfolded, from official sources and eyewitness accounts:
12:39 p.m.: Rothschild police are called to Marathon Savings Bank, 1133 Grand Avenue, for a report of a domestic disturbance, after employees at a nearby Subway restaurant told police a woman entered the restaurant and said her husband was trying to kill her and was at the bank.
12:59 p.m.: Police arrive at Marathon Savings Bank, where they find two victims of gunshot wounds. The suspect fled the scene.
1:10 p.m.: Police are called to the nearby law offices of Tlusty, Kennedy & Dirks, S.C., 1155 Grand Avenue, for another report of a shooting. Multiple sources have told Wausau Pilot & Review that a female attorney who was representing the suspect’s wife in divorce proceedings was shot and killed at the law firm, where she had been renting space.
1:15 p.m.: Officers arrive at the Aspen Street apartments, in the 4900 block of Aspen Street in Weston, in search of the suspect. One of the first officers at the scene, whose name has not yet been publicly released, was shot outside the apartment by what appeared to be a high powered rifle, according to multiple witnesses. Police use an armored vehicle to get to the officer, who died of his injuries.
1:30 p.m.: SWAT teams and officers from multiple agencies arrive at the Aspen Street apartments and begin methodically extracting residents from their apartments and ushering them to safety. Dozens of people, including children, were taken to the Weston Municipal Center, where they were met by members of the Red Cross. D.C. Everest schools, along with Aspirus Wausau Hospital and North Central Health Care, were placed on lockdown shortly after. Students from the Idea Charter School were bused to the Greenheck Field House, and a command center was set up inside the school. Police spent the next several hours in constant contact with the suspect while tactical teams kept the perimeter of the area secure.
4:51 p.m.: Dozens of shots were fired from a second-floor window, according to multiple eyewitness reports and video captured at the scene. Moments later, heavily armed police in riot gear stormed the building and captured the suspect, ending the standoff.
5:10 p.m.: The suspect is loaded into an ambulance, which leaves the scene with its lights on. The suspect was transported to Aspirus Wausau Hospital. As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, Parks said he did not have any information about the suspect’s current condition.
8:10 p.m.: Everest Metro Police Chief Wally Sparks announces that an officer died in the rampage, as well as three civilian victims. Additional details will be revealed today.
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