Woman shot inside Potawatomi Casino, man in custody
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee police say a woman was shot inside Potawatomi Casino early Sunday morning, June 16th.
Police say a 23-year-old Milwaukee woman was shot in the leg, and suffered non life-threatening injuries.
Police say a 27-year-old Wauwatosa man was taken into custody on the Potawatomi Casino grounds after they say he fired a handgun inside the casino.
Witnesses told FOX6 News it appears the 23-year-old victim was caught in the crossfire during a struggle on the casino floor.
One witness told FOX6 News it was the young woman's birthday.
"I was upstairs at the bingo hall, and then when it was over they told everybody to exit because it was a shooting downstairs. The security guards was there. They dropped like everybody else dropped. They wasn’t too much protecting each other. They were trying but they were scared too. They fell to the floor. The whole casino fell to the floor basically," witness Shelia King told FOX6 News.
"We were scared, you know. All the security in there didn’t do nothing, you know. Four tables away from the shooting, we heard like, four or five shots. My brother, he just hold my hand and we duck down under table. After that, all the security told us to just go out you know," witness Tien Pham said.
De Von Dent, who shared pictures with FOX6 News said it seemed the gunman was upset after someone had looked at his girlfriend. A skirmish followed, and the firearm surfaced, and that began a struggle for the weapon -- a handgun witnesses describe as having an extended clip.
Police say the investigation into this incident is ongoing.
The casino was closed until 9:00 a.m. Sunday. The casino was shut down between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m.
Potawatomi Bingo Casino has issued the following statement:
"Potawatomi Bingo Casino had an incident on its gaming floor this morning. We are deferring to the Milwaukee Police Department for specifics. The situation was secured immediately.
We are thankful no one was hurt more seriously and that the situation was contained quickly.
Response by local law enforcement as well as our security team was outstanding. Potawatomi Bingo Casino will continue to cooperate and assist throughout investigation into this extremely isolated event.
The casino closed temporarily and will reopen to the public at 9 a.m. Sunday. First-shift team members should report to the casino as scheduled."