Police work to gather details from witnesses following a shooting on May 1, 2021. (WTAQ News/Casey Nelson)
ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) — The man who shot and killed two people and wounded another at the Duck Creek restaurant was a former employee who had been fired and banned from the Oneida Casino earlier this year.
“Part of the restrictions was he could not have it at the casino or the Radisson. It’s not a place that you’re supposed to have a firearm, but as we know, people who commit crimes like this don’t follow any of the laws, especially something like this,” said Brown County Sheriff, Todd Delain.
Police identified the suspect as 62-year-old Bruce Pofahl. Oneida Nation officials note he was the former food and beverage manager at the restaurant.
“We know that this is not a random act or anything like that. We believe that it was targeted, at least to some of those individuals,” Delain said. “Part of what we’re doing now is trying to determine that motive, determine why he would do this. But we know that this is not a random act.”
Pofahl reportedly walked into the restaurant, went straight up to an open-access waiter station, and pulled out a 9mm handgun.
He shot and killed 32-year-old Ian Simpson and 35-year-old Jacob Bartle at close range before wounding 28-year-old Daniel Mulligan. Mulligan remains in serious, but stable condition at a Milwaukee hospital.
Mulligan was shot outside of the restaurant. Some rumors say he took a swing at Pofahl, but police couldn’t confirm exactly what happened in the altercation between them.
“How that contact occurred, if it was a situation where he knew [Mulligan] and it was an opportunity or if he sought the person out, we don’t know the answer to that question,” Delain said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to get some information directly from [Mulligan] at some point. We have not been able to talk to him at this point, and the number one thing for him right now is just to get better.”
Shortly after Mulligan was shot, police swarmed Pofahl’s location.
“A contact team from the Green Bay police department was able to engage and neutralize a suspect outside of the complex near the parking structure. The lone suspect was pronounced dead at the scene,” Delain said.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is now looking into Pofahl’s death.
While some officers were wearing body cameras, police are still looking for help in piecing together exactly what happened on Saturday.
“It was a Saturday at 7:30 in the evening. There’s people in the banquet halls, there’s people in the casino, people staying in the hotel. That complex is busy on a regular basis, there were several hundred people there,” Delain said. “Any time we can get video evidence that documents what happened, each little piece of that provides another perspective to get a full and complete understanding of what occurred.”
Investigators say they are looking for more witnesses to the shooting. Several events were being held at the complex at the time, including a wedding, a bachelor party and a hockey team dinner.
“There’s multiple entry points and exit points, so those are going to be difficult to manage but [are] something we’ll definitely look at. This is different than the casino, where there’s security guards at every entrance carding individuals as they walk in, surveillance is all over the place in the casino,” said Oneida Nation Vice Chairman, Brandon Stevens.
It took several hours for authorities to comb through the entire complex and clear the facility.
An online fundraiser has been established for Mulligan.
WTAQ’s Casey Nelson also contributed to this story.
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