Target Distribution Center worker accused, pulling gun on 2 people

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - A 27-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of pulling a gun on a security guard and a second person at the Target Distribution Center in Oconomowoc. The accused is Keon Hawthorne – and he faces the following criminal counts: 

• First-degree recklessly endangering safety (two counts)
• Disorderly conduct, use of a dangerous weapon
• Misdemeanor bail jumping

Case details

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, Oconomowoc police were dispatched to the Target Distribution Center on Valley Road shortly after 6 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26 for a "complaint of a man with a gun."

Target Distribution Center, Oconmowoc

The first officers arriving on the scene searched the parking lot after being told the suspect had left the building. The officers were not able to locate anybody matching the description of the suspect in the parking lot.

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The officers went into the building and spoke with a security officer. He indicated there was an argument in the front lobby between two employees -- one of them being the defendant. The episode was captured by surveillance cameras and showed that the security guard stepped in to try to deescalate the situation. The complaint says at that point, the defendant "pulled a firearm out of his pocket and pointed it at (the security guard and the second person)." The security guard "was able to knock the defendant's arms upward, causing the defendant to stumble backwards. It did not appear that any shots were fired," the complaint says. It was at that point that the second guard crawled into a women's restroom where he called 911.

Investigators reviewed other surveillance video. One camera showed "the defendant racked the slide of the firearm indicating that he was making sure a round was chambered in the firearm ready to be fired," the complaint says. Officers believed "the defendant was attempting to fire the weapon as he was pointing it at the beads of both (the security guard and the second person). (The officer) believed from his review of the video that had (the security guard) not knocked the defendant's arms upward, the defendant may have fired the gun" at both people, the complaint says.

Target Distribution Center, Oconmowoc

When the defendant left the building, the parking lot's surveillance cameras "show him running towards a silver compact hatchback that was turning from an aisle to go past the employee entrance. The defendant then pointed his right arm toward the silver vehicle in a manner that appeared he was pointing a firearm," the complaint says. The driver of that silver vehicle then exited the property -- and the defendant walked across the parking lot and got into a black SUV.

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The complaint notes that at the time of this criminal complaint filing, the defendant was not in custody. He is pending on a single count of possession of amphetamine/LSD/psilocin from 2018. 

Defendant on the run

What's next:

A warrant was issued on Thursday, Jan. 30 for Hawthorne's arrest.