Gas station shooting suspect, victim ID'd by Racine County officials

Racine County sheriff shares more on gas station shootings

Sheriff Christopher Schmaling addressed the Racine County Board, sharing information about a pair of gas station shootings that left two dead, including the suspected gunman, on Tuesday.

CALEDONIA, Wis. - The Racine County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, July 14 identified the 22-year-old victim of Tuesday's homicide at the Pilot Travel Center as Anthony Griger of Elkhorn. Griger was a 2017 graduate of Franklin High School who went by "Nino."

Anthony Griger

Officials also identified the 32-year-old suspect, who fatally shot Griger and got into a shootout with a sheriff’s investigator, as John McCarthy.

John McCarthy

Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said Tuesday in a news briefing that Griger was "executed" while pumping gas that morning, the events beginning around 7:30 a.m at the gas station off County Highway K near Interstate 94.

"Folks, I have never seen anything like this in my life," Schmaling said, addressing the Racine County Board. "(McCarthy) lied in wait. He sat there and waited for the right opportunity. And when he was pumping gas, he quietly walked up to him and shot him dead."

Shooting at Pilot truck stop, Caledonia

Schmaling told the Racine County Board that McCarthy rummaged through Griger's pockets before shooting at another person and leaving for the Mobil gas station down the road.

There, with gun drawn, Schmaling said, McCarthy approached the undercover investigator who was pumping gas. Then, the two exchanged gunfire. McCarthy was struck and killed; the investigator sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Scene at Franksville Mobil gas station

The sheriff said the investigator is at the hospital recovering from multiple gunshot wounds that fractured several bones around his pelvis. The investigator has worked for the Racine County Sheriff's Office for two decades.

Schmaling said if the investigator hadn't been there, many more could be dead.

"I hate to say this, but I am glad that it was (the investigator) and not a random citizen because he was armed and he was trained. And he knew what to do when someone encountered him," Schmaling said, addressing the board.

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It is unclear, officials said, if the shooting was targeted or random. The motive remains unclear as well.

The Racine County Sheriff’s Office set up a tipline at 262-636-3990. Anyone who has additional information concerning the incidents can reach the Criminal Investigations Bureau at that number.

Griger's family posted a GoFundMe online fundraiser on Wednesday. The organizer wrote: "There are no words to express the anguish and shock that all of Nino's family and friends are experiencing right now. We pray that he is at peace and in the loving arms of those who have gone before him.

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