Kevin Donaldson, Cedric Gaston and Atkeen Stevenson.Photo: facebook (2); Youtube
A man who was asked to leave a Wisconsin tavern Saturday night because he’d been uncooperative allegedly returned to the busy nightspot and opened fire, killing three men who were friends and wounding at least three others, say authorities.
On Monday, the Sheriff’s Department announced that 24-year-old Rakayo Alandis Vinson had been arrested in connection with the shooting.
He is facing one count of first-degree intentional homicide with additional charges to follow pending further investigation, the sheriff’s department said earlier on Monday in a media release.
It is unclear whether he knew the victims previously.
Rakayo Vinson.Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department
Vinson is being held in the Kenosha County Jail. He has not yet entered a plea.
It is not immediately known whether he has hired an attorney who can comment on his behalf.
Somers House Tavern.TANNEN MAURY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The mass shooting began late Saturday night when Vinson was asked to leave the popular tavern because he “wasn’t cooperating with the management,” Beth said Monday.
At the press conference on Monday afternoon,Beth said that “there was a scuffle between the three men involved and our suspect,” theKenosha Newsreports.
After getting “removed from the establishment,” the suspect “left the bar” and then at about 12:42 a.m., “came back and started shooting,” Beth alleged.
Heidi Wittwer was there when shots rang out.
When shots were fired, “We were told to duck, and then everyone started running and we all just ran very fast,” Wittwer said.
Two of the men died at the tavern, Beth said Monday, while the third died as a result of gunfire outside the bar.
The third victim got into a car with two people and drove away before he died, he said.
Three men, ages 22, 23, and 26, were seriously injured in the shooting, the department said in a release.
Multiple other people suffered minor injuries, Beth said.
The incident was the latest in a string of mass shootings across the country.
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As police investigate, the victims' loved ones are mourning their loss.
“I love my brother dearly. He’s my everything,” Cartier Gaston added.
Describing the three victims as"the most kind-hearted" people,Azriel Raasch told Fox6. “It’s just so hard to explain because they loved everybody, even if they didn’t know you.”
source: people.com
