CALEDONIA, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin gunman who killed a 22-year-old man who was pumping gas later shot himself in the head after exchanging gunfire with an undercover sheriff’s investigator, authorities said Thursday.
John McCarthy, 32, of Hartland, killed himself after confronting the undercover sheriff’s investigator at another gas station not far away in Caledonia on Tuesday, the state Department of Justice said in revealing new details about the shooting.
The Racine County Sheriff’s Department named McCarthy as the shooter earlier Wednesday.
Both McCarthy and the investigator were struck by gunfire before McCarthy fatally shot himself, the justice department said. The investigator, whose name hasn’t been released, is recovering at a Racine hospital from wounds that aren’t considered life-threatening.
McCarthy lay in wait for 22-year-old Anthon Griger, of Elkhorn, as he filled up his vehicle at the Pilot Travel Center at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said. The sheriff said McCarthy “executed” Griger.
Officials have not identified a motive for the shooting.
Schmaling said McCarthy rummaged through Griger’s pockets before shooting multiple times at another person who was driving through the parking lot. That person was not injured.
McCarthy then drove to a Mobil station about 2 miles (3 kilometers) away, according to authorities. There, with a gun drawn, McCarthy approached the undercover investigator who was pumping gas into his unmarked squad car, Schmaling said.
The two exchanged gunfire. The investigator suffered multiple gunshot wounds that fractured several bones around his pelvis, the sheriff’s office said.
Family members posted on a GoFundMe page that Griger’s death was all too sudden. Griger was a 2017 graduate of Franklin High School whom family and friends called “Nino.”
“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,” a statement read.
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