Suspect in Wisconsin bar shooting that killed 3 identified
Posted April 19, 2021 10:56 am.
Last Updated April 19, 2021 11:03 am.
KENOSHA, Wis. — The man in custody in connection with a shooting at a southeastern Wisconsin tavern that left three men dead and three others injured was expected to appear in court Monday for a bond hearing.
Kenosha County sheriff’s officials identified the man being held in the Kenosha County Jail as 24-year-old Rakayo Alandis Vinson.
Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. David Wright said the suspect is facing a charge of first-degree intentional homicide, with additional criminal charges likely after further investigation.
Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said earlier a suspect was asked to leave the Somers House Tavern in the village of Somers but returned and opened fire. Beth said shots were fired inside and outside the bar, which he described as “very busy” at the time. He said he believed at least one handgun was used.
Beth scheduled a news conference for Monday afternoon to talk about the case.
Somers is about 30 miles (50 kilometres) south of Milwaukee, not far from the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
It was the latest in a recent string of shootings across the country, including the killings of eight people at a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis on Thursday. Last month, four people were killed at an office shooting in California, eight people were fatally shot at massage businesses in the Atlanta area, and 10 died in gunfire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.
The nearby city of Kenosha was the scene of serious unrest last summer, after police shot a young Black man, Jacob Blake, leaving him paralyzed. A white Illinois teenager was accused of fatally shooting two people during the Kenosha protests. Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, is charged with homicide and attempted homicide in the Aug. 25 shootings. He has pleaded not guilty and says he fired in self-defence.
The Associated Press
