Full report from Azana Salon & Spa mass shooting to be released



BROOKFIELD (WITI) -- Brookfield police planned to release a final report on the mass shooting at the Azana Salon & Spa in October on Friday, March 1st. FOX6 News spoke with one of the women who was working at the salon on October 21st, who says the release of this report will open wounds for many of those involved in this tragic event.

On a sunny, October Sunday, October 21st, Radcliffe Haughton entered the salon and opened fire, killing his wife, Zina Daniel, Maelyn Lind and Cary Robuck -- and injuring four others.

Haughton's body was later found inside the salon. He died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Sarah was an esthetician working upstairs at the salon on the day of the shooting. Police told Sarah they are releasing nine disks worth of information to the public on March 1st, including the 911 calls that made the day from the scene. She says she and other victims are worried about the emotions this release will bring.

"A lot of anxiety. A lot of anxiety. A lot of disappointment. We wish we could be protected from that, that our loved ones could be protected from hearing things, from knowing certain things we haven't shared. Everytime the situation is brought up, it sets us back mentally. It doesn't help us at all," Sarah told FOX6 News.

About a dozen Azana employees keep in regular contact and have created a support system. With the final report coming out on Friday, they did a phone chain of support to prepare themselves.

"The victims and the survivors deal with so much post-traumatic stress, I don't think it's something people think about. The way it affects each person is so different," Sarah said.

Sarah estimates three workers who were there during the mass shooting have gone back to the spa. Others went elsewhere to work, and others haven't been able to work at all.

"Many a night we've lost sleep. We have so much anxiety. We can't go places. We can't do the normal things we used to do and post-traumatic stress can subside for awhile and then can come back," Sarah said.

Sarah said she hopes as the details of that day become public, she and other victims can have their privacy and time to heal.

"We have to get used to our new normal and we have to get to a point we're able to get through things so we're able to function like we did before. I think it's very, very far off for a lot of us," Sarah said.

FOX6 News spoke with family members of other victims in advance of this report. They all have slightly different experiences and thoughts, but it is clear, no one is getting close to getting their lives back to normal.



Paul Gasser is an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at Marquette University. He says it's not surprising that survivors of the shooting are experiencing anxiety and PTSD.

"This is a real disorder. It's not something that involves a weakness in an individual," Gasser said.