Middleton workplace shooter Anthony Tong passed company background check
MADISON -- Nate Herbst, the CEO of WTS Paradigm, spoke on Tuesday, Sept. 25 about his company's reaction to the workplace shooting at the Middleton office on Sept. 19 -- and how the company plans to move forward.
WTS Paradigm CEO Nate Herbst
"Today is an opportunity for our WTS employees to come together, to talk, to share and to support each other in the healing process," Herbst said.
Herbst talked about the three employees seriously hurt in the shooting. He said Tuesday two were recovering at home and the third, while recovering in the hospital, was doing well. A fourth person suffered a graze wound -- and was treated and released.
At the WTS Paradigm office, Herbst indicated grief counselors were going to be available to employees on Tuesday.
"We're also allowing our employees to re-engage back in the workplace at their own schedule and pace. We want them to be healthy," Herbst said.
Herbst thanked law enforcement for their quick response to the active shooting incident.
"This group of first responders ran into danger and saved many lives last week," Herbst said.
Herbst told reporters it will take time for the WTS family to fully recover and heal, but he said the company will "find the strength to recover and move forward."
Meanwhile, Herbst said Tuesday that 43-year-old Anthony Tong passed a background check when he was hired. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Herbst said the company wasn't aware of Tong's mental health history and he didn't know Tong personally.
Court records indicate a South Dakota judge stripped Tong of his concealed carry permit in 2004 after Sioux Falls officers took him to a hospital's mental health unit on a 24-hour hold.
Herbst had few encounters with Tong at the software company, and did not know of his previous mental health issues in South Dakota.
"My involvement with Anthony was just seeing him once or twice here or there and saying, 'Good morning'. He was just a quiet person," Herbst said.
Herbst asked for privacy and time for his employees.
"It will take time for our WTS family to fully recover and heal, but we are thankful to have the support of each other and the community as a whole," Herbst said.