Hostages are being held inside the Eagle Nation Cycles motorcycle repair shop in Neenah, Wis., after a man walked inside and fired off his weapon, reports WISN. Police have responded to the gunman and have requested assistance from the Appleton Police Department’s SWAT team.
A Facebook post by the Neenah Police Department describes the situation as a “high risk incident,” and says that reports from the scene say that at least one possible shot has been fired.
Police are advising nearby residents to stay away from windows in case the situation escalates outside the shop.
In addition to telling area residents to seek shelter, the Neenah Police Department tweeted that they have evacuated a number of homes and businesses nearby.
Two people have apparently been moved from the scene for hospital treatment, according to news reports.
UPDATE [12:58 p.m.]: WHBY journalist Phil Cianciola reports that several other shots have been fired in the building, per the Mayor Dean Kaufert’s report. Kaufert was near the scene was briefed on the situation shortly after the hostage situation began.
UPDATE [1:18 p.m.]: Several journalists on the scene report that police are detaining the suspect, according to RT. Reports suggest that the man walked out of the shop with no weapon after negotiating with police.
UPDATE [1:34 p.m.]: Mayor Kaufert spoke with the press right before reports started coming in of police making contact with the suspect.
Police have surrounded the motorcycle shop. According to local news station Fox 11, the mayor reported that over 30 shots had been fired and there are more firearms in the building. Kaufert reported that people are being held in the basement of the Eagle Nation Cycles building. (Fox 6 has a video of the full interview with the mayor here.)
Fox 11 also reports that police are asking to extend their perimeter around the cycle shop.
UPDATE [1:58 p.m.]: WLUK’s Courtney Ryan posted these photos of the suspect walking out of the building and being taken into custody:
UPDATE [2:20 p.m.]: Two people are now in custody, according to the latest reports from Fox 11.
WBAY reports that federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will assist Neenah Police with tracing the firearm used and other aspects of the investigation.
Police confirmed in a press conference after the suspects were in custody that a police officer and a citizen have been taken to the hospital with injuries, reports Fox 6. Police also told Fox 6 that they are in the process of going through “final clearing operations” to ensure the site is safe.
CORRECTION/UPDATE: Reports originally indicated that two men had been taken into custody, however, we notice that several of Courtney Ryan’s live-tweets about a second suspect have been deleted. Only one man is in custody for the shooting, per the Appleton Post-Crescent.
Of the two wounded taken to the hospital from the scene, hostage Michael Funk had been shot and later died from his injuries. The policeman shot in upon entering the building was not seriously injured, as the bullet hit his helmet.
As for the motive, the Appleton Post-Crescent reports that the suspect wanted his motorcycle back from the shop, which had been sold to another man who had taken it to Eagle Nation Cycles. [H/T Rob Rodig]
Photo credit Phil Cianciola video screencap
Contact the author at stef.schrader@jalopnik.com.