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UPDATE: Two coworkers shot at Middleton software company released from hospital, shooter "in good standing" at WTS Paradigm

By: Justin Thompson-Gee Facebook | X
Posted: Sep 22, 2018 6:22 PM CST
UPDATE: Two coworkers shot at Middleton software company released from hospital, shooter “in good standing“ at WTS Paradigm
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Updated: 6:22 p.m. September 22, 2018

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two people shot by a colleague this week at a Wisconsin software company have been discharged from a Madison hospital, a health system spokesman said Saturday.

The two discharged patients were released Friday and a third patient remained hospitalized in fair condition on Saturday, UW Health spokesman Gian Galassi said.

WTS Paradigm employee Anthony Tong opened fire with 9mm semi-automatic pistol inside the company's Middleton headquarters Wednesday, seriously wounding three co-workers and grazing another. A search warrant made public Friday shows that one of the victims was shot 10 times.

Police killed Tong in a shootout minutes after the attack started. The Middleton Police Department said in a statement that two officers shot at Tong: Richard O'Connor and Tyler Loether. O'Connor has worked at the department since 1998, while Loether started in 2012.

The Dane County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that two of its deputies fired their weapons in the shootout: 21-year veteran David Lambrecht and Matthew Earll, who has served there for 11 years.

The officers and deputies have are on paid administrative leave until the official investigation is finished and the district attorney issues a ruling.

Middleton Police Chief Chuck Foulke has said Tong was not legally allowed to buy a gun. In 2004, Tong had his concealed-carry permit revoked in South Dakota after police said he was acting delusional and paranoid.

Tong's motive remains a mystery.

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Updated: 5:00 p.m. September 21, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (AP/CBS 58) -- A gunman who opened fire on his co-workers at a Wisconsin software company was in good standing at the firm.

WTS Paradigm employee Anthony Tong wounded four people at the office's Middleton headquarters on Wednesday before police killed him in a shoot-out. Three of the victims remain hospitalized in fair condition.

The company issued a statement Friday saying Tong was in good standing with the company and was facing no disciplinary action.

Police say Tong's motive remains a mystery.

Court documents show a South Dakota judge revoked his concealed-carry permit in 2004 after he acted delusional and paranoid with officers investigating why he had disabled his apartment's fire alarm.

The documents show that at the time, he told officers he thought his neighbors were spying on him and that he believed people at work were "talking bad about him" but refused to explain.

Here is the full statement from WTS Paradigm:

“Our community is very fortunate to have an incredible group of first responders. From law enforcement to emergency medical workers and all others who assisted during Wednesday’s tragedy, these selfless men and women are true heroes. To them, we again say thank you. Further, to the local Middleton businesses and organizations that have offered us support and reached out to us these past few days, thank you. This is why we are proud to call Middleton home.

“As we move forward, WTS Paradigm is supporting and helping its employees by providing important support and services to them as they begin the process of working through this traumatic event. Our thoughts are with our three colleagues who remain hospitalized following their injuries. We appreciate the fact that the public understands that all of our employees need and deserve the time to privately grieve and cope with this life-changing event. We have encouraged our employees to fully cooperate with law enforcement as the investigation continues, and we ask that anyone with any additional information about Wednesday’s incident to contact authorities.

“Finally, we want to clarify that Mr. Tong was an employee in good standing and was not facing any type of disciplinary action. We, like everyone else, are shocked and saddened by this senseless act. The WTS Paradigm team remains strong, and we will get through this together with support and help from colleagues, family, friends and the community. We will find the strength to recover and move forward.”

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Updated: 12:01 p.m. September 21, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (AP) -- The suspect in a Wisconsin workplace shooting that wounded four people had his concealed-carry permit revoked and was unable to legally purchase a firearm, police said Friday.

Middleton Police Chief Chuck Foulke said the gunman, 43-year-old Anthony Tong, had no criminal history but did have "contact" with police in South Dakota in 2004 that involved a mental health issue. Foulke didn't give details of the South Dakota incident.

Foulke cautioned against concluding that mental health was an issue in the Wednesday morning shooting at WTS Paradigm. Investigators said Tong opened fire on his co-workers in the company's Middleton headquarters, seriously wounding three people and grazing a fourth before police killed him in a shoot-out.

Foulke said police still don't know what motivated the attack.

"He came to work that day on a normal basis and was working when this happened," Foulke said. "I just don't know. Motive is the huge thing that everybody wants to know."

Foulke said Tong moved from South Dakota to Wisconsin in March 2017, a month before he started his job at WTS Paradigm. The chief said he didn't know how Tong was making a living in South Dakota but assumed he came to Wisconsin for the WTS Paradigm job.

The police chief said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was trying to track down the origin of the 9mm semiautomatic pistol used in the attack but was running into problems with the trace.

"There's something unique about that weapon that they're having trouble finding out where it came from and what hands it passed through," Foulke said.

He declined to elaborate.

Authorities also said Friday that the conditions of the three seriously wounded workers had improved. The woman and two men have been upgraded from serious to fair condition at University Hospital in Madison, according to UW Health.

Police don't know if the victims were targeted or shot at random. Their names haven't been released.

Officers were called to WTS Paradigm in Middleton, a Madison suburb of about 17,440 people, just before 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Foulke said officers arrived within 8 minutes of receiving emergency calls and found a man wielding a semiautomatic pistol. Foulke said the man was also carrying extra magazines.

Two Middleton officers and two Dane County sheriff's deputies exchanged gunfire with Tong, killing him. The officers and deputies were not hurt, according to police.

WTS Paradigm makes software for the building products industry. A Wisconsin State Journal profile from 2014 listed company employment at about 145 workers and noted the company was looking to move to a larger location at the time.

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Updated: 2:07 p.m. September 20, 2018

DANE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Dane County Medical Examiner has released the identity of the suspect who is accused of shooting four people at WTS Paradigm in Middleton. The suspect is 43-year-old Verona man Anthony Tong. 

Tong died from a gunshot wound. 

He worked at WTS Paradigm since April 2017. The motive behind the shooting is unknown.

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Updated: 10:59 a.m. September 20, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The name of the suspect has not been released by police at the request of the Dane County District Attorney and Medical Examiner. The Middleton Police Chief says the suspect is in his 40s and he believes he is 43-years-old. He had no prior criminal history. He did not have a gun permit in Wisconsin but may have had one from a previous state.

The names of the victims recovering in the hospital have not been released but they are identified as two men and one woman. Two of them have been interviewed. 

Authorities repeated that there is no threat to the public.

Wednesday night the suspect's home was entered by a weapons team on the southwest side of Madison. He lived alone. Investigators took items of importance to the investigation.

Any witnesses that have not been interviewed are asked to call the Dane County non-emergency number at 608-284-6900. Anyone who needs information on trauma services and support can call 608-376-0164.

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Updated: 10:08 a.m. September 20, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The shooting victim that had been in critical condition has been upgraded to serious condition. The other two victims still in the hospital remain in serious condition, according to UW Health.

Those who worked in the building where the shooting happened and close by are allowed to retrieve their belongings from inside the businesses and their cars on Thursday. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. employees of WTS Paradigm will be escorted in. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. other occupants of 1850Deming Way will be escorted in. Finally, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. occupants of the 1800 Deming Way building will be allowed in.

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Updated: 9:36 p.m. September 19, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- An employee is sharing his eyewitness account of what happened during a shooting in Middleton Wednesday.

"I was sitting at my desk and I heard 4-5 loud bangs. I looked around and heard a couple more bangs and my coworker bolted out the door," said Drew Beatty.

Beatty ducked under his desk and waited for a pause in the rounds being fired before he made his way towards a shattered glass door. A woman nearby spoke to another employee who was hurt.

"She had blood on her knee. I asked her if she got shot and she said no, it's from the glass breaking from the window. She was shaken up pretty good."

Any victims and witnesses dealing with trauma are asked to call The Dane County Crime Response Unit at (608) 376-0164.

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Updated: 4:18 p.m. September 19, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- In an afternoon press conference, the Middleton Police Chief added that four total victims were injured in the shooting. Three were seriously injured and one received a very minor graze wound.

UW Health tweeted that the three were recovering at their hospital. Two are in serious conditions and one is in critical condition.

The shooter was engaged by police within eight minutes of the first 911 call. The shooter and police engaged in gunfire. None of the officers were injured, the shooter was injured and taken to the hospital where he later died. 

The shooter has been identified as an employee of WTS Paradigm. Information about how the shooting took place has not been released and it is unknown if the victims were targeted or if the shooting was random.

The suspect was armed with at least a semi-automatic pistol and had lots of ammo according to police. The name of the shooter has not been released, but he is from Madison. 


WTS Paradigm released a statement which said in part, "The entire WTS Paradigm team is shocked and heartbroken by the incident that occurred today at our Middleton office. Our deepest thoughts are with all of our staff and their loved ones. We are working directly with Dane County and our EAP services to provide employees with grief counseling. We also plan to provide additional support services to staff in the near future."

To read the full statement, see below. 

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Updated: 1:52 p.m. September 19, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (CBS 58/AP) -- According to the Associated Press, a Middleton city official has said that the suspect in the shooting at WTS Paradigm has died. The suspect was shot by police after they responded for a report of an active shooter around 10:25 am.

Middleton Police Chief Chuck Foulke says there are no other suspects in the attack that occurred Wednesday morning at software company WTS Paradigm. Foulke says the suspect died after being shot by officers.

Foulke said all lockdowns in the area have been lifted. He didn't release details about the suspect or how the attack unfolded. He says officers are still interviewing witnesses.

Police are planning an update later Wednesday afternoon.

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Updated: 1:15 p.m. September 19, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Middleton Police Chief Foulke gave a press conference Wednesday afternoon. He confirmed that three victims were injured in the shooting which happened at WTS Paradigm software company.

Officers responded to the active shooter, located the suspect and engaged them in gunfire. The suspect was also injured and taken to the hospital. 

The building and surrounding area have been cleared and police are searching for no other suspects. Officials lifted to lockdown just after 1 p.m. 

Another press conference has been scheduled for 4 p.m. CBS 58 will bring that live to you on the CBS 58 News at 4.

Families of anyone that works in the building can meet them at the Marriott Hotel.

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Updated: 12:28 p.m. September 19, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (AP) -- A city official says four people have been shot, but none fatally, during a shooting at a software company near Madison, Wisconsin.

The shooting occurred Wednesday morning in Middleton. City Administrator Mike Davis says the suspected shooter was also injured. Their conditions weren't immediately known.

The shooting was reported around 10 a.m. at WTS Paradigm. Davis says police have lifted a lockdown

A hospital spokesman says four people are being treated at University Hospital in Middleton.

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Updated: 12:11 p.m. September 19, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Officials have confirmed to CBS 58 that four people are being treated at UW Hospital. Authorities said it is too early to know the condition the four people are in, but no one was fatally shot.

It is unknown if they are all victims or if the shooter is among those injured.

Esker Software responded to a tweet and said they are safe.

The shooting looks to have happened at WTS Paradigm.

Both Wisconsin U.S. Senators Johnson and Baldwin have tweeted that they are monitoring the situation.

Middleton, a suburb of the state capital Madison, is a city of about 17,000 residents.

"My heart goes out to the people involved in the shooting," Middleton Mayor Gurdip Brar said. "You never would think this type of thing would happen in your city. Really, so sad that this happened here."

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Updated: 12:00 p.m. September 19, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (AP/CBS 58) -- An employee at a Wisconsin business where a shooting took place says she ran for her life after hearing "really loud" shots.

Judy Lahmers is a business analyst at WTS Paradigm in the Madison suburb of Middleton. She says she didn't know whether to run or hide when she heard shots about 10 a.m. Wednesday. She says she ran out of the building and hid behind a car.

Lahmers says she knows one co-worker was grazed by a shot but was OK. She didn't know the extent of the shooting. Police haven't released details but numerous ambulances are at the scene .

Lahmers says the shooting was "totally unexpected." She said: "We're all software people. We have a good group."

Another company, Esker, is next door. Esker employee Gabe Geib says he heard a couple of shots but didn't immediately know what it was. He says he then saw numerous people running away from the building in "full sprint."

He says he and his colleagues were still huddled in their cafeteria, away from windows, more than an hour after the shooting.

Governor Walker says he is following the situation closely.

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Updated: 11:16 a.m. September 19, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (AP) — Police are responding to a report of an active shooter at a commercial building in a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin.

The State Journal reports that the Dane County dispatch center said shots have been fired at Esker Software in Middleton. Police and multiple ambulances have responded.

Dane County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Elise Schaffer confirmed there is an “active shooter situation” and that the office is assisting Middleton Police with the response. She provided no additional information.

Middleton is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of Milwaukee.

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Posted: 10:47 a.m. September 19, 2018

MIDDLETON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Authorities in Dane County are responding to a commercial building in Middleton Wednesday morning after reports of a shooter, according to CBS affiliate WISC. 

WISC says that Dane County dispatch tells them it received multiple reports of an active shooter around 10:25 a.m. near Deming Way and Terrace Avenue.

Local schools have been placed on lockdown. An alert went out asking people to stay away from the area.

Stay with CBS 58 through this developing story.

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