The Latest: Suspect in Wisconsin attack had ’04 mental hold
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on this week’s shooting at a software company in Wisconsin that seriously injured three people (all times local):
12:50 p.m.
The suspect in a Wisconsin workplace shooting that wounded four people had a concealed-carry permit revoked in 2004 by a South Dakota judge after police said he was acting delusional and paranoid.
Court records show officers were called in August 2004 to Anthony Tong’s apartment to investigate a disabled fire alarm. Tong admitted he disabled it.
Officers handcuffed Tong and confiscated a handgun and an AR-15 assault rifle and ammunition. The affidavit says Tong told police the weapons were for protection. The affidavit says Tong told police that people at work were “talking bad about him,” but refused to explain.
Tony was transported to a hospital’s mental health unit on a 24-hour mental hold. Later that year, a state judge revoked his concealed-carry permit.
Tong died after being shot by officers responding to Wednesday’s attack at a software company in the Madison suburb of Middleton.
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12:15 p.m.
A Wisconsin police chief says authorities are having difficulty tracking down the origin of a gun used in a workplace shooting that wounded four people this week.
Middleton Police Chief Chuck Foulke said Friday that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is working on tracking the weapon. But he says there is “something unique” about the weapon that is making the work difficult. He wouldn’t elaborate.
Investigators say the gunman, 43-year-old Anthony Tong, opened fire on his co-workers Wednesday morning at WTS Paradigm, a software company in the Madison suburb of Middleton.
Foulke says Tong’s concealed-carry permit had been revoked and he wasn’t able to legally purchase a gun. The police chief says Tong had contact with police in South Dakota in 2004 due to a mental health issue, but he gave no details. Foulke cautioned it’s premature to conclude that Wednesday’s shooting stemmed from such an issue.
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10:45 a.m.
Police say the suspect in a Wisconsin workplace shooting that seriously injured three people had his concealed-carry permit revoked and was unable to legally purchase a firearm.
Middleton Police Chief Chuck Foulke said Friday that 43-year-old Anthony Tong had “contact” with police in South Dakota in 2004 that involved a mental health issue.
Foulke didn’t give details of the South Dakota incident, but he cautioned against concluding that mental health was an issue in Wednesday’s shooting at WTS Paradigm in Middleton.
Foulke says police still don’t know what motivated the attack.
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10:30 a.m.
Authorities say the conditions of three workers shot by a colleague at a Wisconsin software company are improving.
UW Health said Friday that the three patients have been upgraded from serious to fair condition at University Hospital in Madison. Police say the woman and two men were shot Wednesday morning when a co-worker opened fire inside WTS Paradigm in Middleton.
The gunman has been identified as 43-year-old Anthony Tong. He was fatally shot by police responding to the incident.
A fourth employee suffered a graze wound during the attack.
Middleton Police Chief Chuck Foulke says investigators still don’t know what prompted the attack. Tong had worked at WTS Paradigm since April 2017 and had no criminal history in Wisconsin.
Police don’t know if the victims were targeted or shot at random.
