Suspect in deadly Wisconsin spa shootings found dead

John Bacon, USA TODAY | USATODAY

Three people were killed and four wounded when a gunman opened fire at a suburban Milwaukee spa Sunday, Brookfield Police Chief Dan Tushaus said.

The suspect, Radcliffe Franklin Haughton, 45, was found dead inside the spa after a six-hour manhunt, Tushaus told the Associated Press.

Police, sheriff's deputies and a bomb-detection team were on the scene at Azana Salon and Spa. Tushaus initially said an improvised explosive device had been found at the spa, but later said no such device was found.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper quoted David Gosh of West Allis, who said he saw a woman run out of the spa and then, moments later, a man run out with a handgun, apparently chasing the woman. Gosh said police began streaming to the scene, and the gunman, seeing them, ran either back into the building or into the woods behind the building.

"He was the shooter," Gosh told the Journal Sentinel. "He was looking for an escape route."

Court records showed a temporary restraining order was issued against Haughton in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Oct. 8 because of a domestic abuse complaint, the AP said. Tushaus said Haughton has slashed his wife's tires two weeks ago.

His wife is an employee at the spa. It was not clear if she was one of the victims.

Haughton's father, Radcliffe Haughton Sr. of Florida, had told the AP he wanted his son to turn himself in. He said he last spoke to his son a few days ago and there was no indication anything was wrong.

Beth Strohbusch, a spokeswoman for Froedtert Memorial Hospital, said four shooting victims were taken there, none in critical condition.





The shootings took place around 11 a.m. local time, or noon ET. WISN-TV said traffic had been redirected away from the spa and nearby Brookfield Square Mall, and armed officers had surrounded the spa.

Milwaukee FBI spokesman Leonard Peace told the AP that an FBI SWAT team, hostage negotiators, command staff and victims specialists helped with the response.

Robert Schmidt, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said 10 ATF agents aided the effort.

WISN said police asked people in the mall's parking lot to clear out, so officers could set up operations there. Tactical teams were on the scene, as well as numerous fire, ambulance and police vehicles. A medical helicopter was on the ground.

The shootings took place less than three months after the mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., about 20 miles away. The temple shootings resulted in the death of seven people, including the gunman who killed himself.

The spa shootings took place less than a mile from where seven people were killed and four wounded on March 12, 2005, when a gunman opened fire at a Living Church of God service held at a hotel.