"Cannot happen again:" Police from IL to MKE work together as dragaway shooter remains at large



Town of Paris Board Chairman Virgil Gentz



TOWN OF PARIS -- The chairman of the town board here says something needs to change after three men were killed Sunday night, August 13th at the Great Lakes Dragaway.

The gunman remains at large. Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said Tuesday his office has gotten several tips about the shooting and said investigators are working with police from Illinois to Milwaukee to follow up on each of the leads.

When the call came in, letting him know three people had been shot and killed at the racetrack, Town of Paris Board Chairman Virgil Gentz said he was stunned.



"Hoping that the call was wrong. Hoping that someone made a mistake -- because that just doesn't happen in the Town of Paris," said Gentz.

Officials said on Sunday night,  a gunman walked up to the three victims, all men from the Chicagoland area, and shot them several times from point-blank range.

Great Lakes Dragaway shooting victims



Great Lakes Dragaway



Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth used the word "assassination" to describe the shooting. He said the circumstances surrounding the shooting indicate it may have been gang-related.

"We do believe the three people that are deceased are members of a gang out of Illinois," said Sheriff Beth.

Gentz said the town board plans to meet with track management to talk about their security measures going forward.

"The town board, from my perspective, is not trying to do anything to close the drag strip. I think we have to work together to make the environment safer," said Gentz.

Great Lakes Dragaway



FOX6 News reached out to Great Lakes Dragaway officials Tuesday, who did not immediately respond. Gentz said he does not want to discuss specifics of any possible changes until after the investigation is complete.

"They're all people who know their line of work. They were there. The town board was not there,"  Gentz said.

Great Lakes Dragaway shooting



Gentz said when that time comes, the board will take some kind of action.

"There has to be changes made. This cannot happen again," said Gentz.

Great Lakes Dragaway shooting suspect description



Gentz said the next town board meeting will be on Tuesday, August 29th. He expects to have a large turnout with a lot of people who want to talk about what happened at the racetrack on Sunday.

Great Lakes Dragaway