(Muir Analytics’ Quick Brief is broadly based on the Pentagon EXSUM briefing method. The aim is to quickly explain an evolving hotel threat issue in about 15 lines in executive summary format. Muir has added a quick analysis of the issue that can help hotels mitigate certain risks.)

Chain of events

1. On Saturday, 1 May 2021, at 7:30 pm, a gunman opened fire inside the Duck Creek Kitchen + Bar inside the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin (run by the Oneida Native American tribe.)
2. The hotel complex is part of the Oneida Casino and is a gun-free zone.
3. The gunman was the restaurant’s former food and beverage manager.
4. He was armed with a 9mm handgun.
5. The shooter entered the hotel’s restaurant targeting his former female manager – whom he was harassing outside of work – but she was not at the hotel.
6. The gunman then went to the waiter’s station, argued with two people, and shot them both at close range, killing them.
7. The shooter then began to leave and was confronted by another employee around the restaurant entrance, whom the gunman shot in the face.
8. That victim went to the hospital for surgery and lived.
9. Hotel, restaurant, and casino guests panicked and fled the establishment, though some commented afterward they weren’t sure where to go.
10. Law enforcement arrived and, following active shooter response protocols, swept the property and engaged the shooter in the hotel parking lot, killing him.
11. Video of the event suggests police fired at least 30 rounds during that engagement.
12. The targeted female manager had a restraining order against the shooter for making violent threats, but he was still legally able to possess a firearm.

Takeaways

First, the US suffers from 30-50+ hotel attacks each month, many of them at 3–5-star hotels, so this Radisson shooting is not surprising. America suffers from a nationwide hotel crime epidemic.

Second, the Radisson hotel-casino complex, in this case, is a gun-free zone, but most hotel shooters are career criminals or persons with mental disorders who ignore firearms laws. It is notable that the shooter in this case also ignored the restraining order against him.

Third, anger and revenge are common reasons for hotel violence, and disgruntled hotel employees occasionally lash out. Likewise, hotel employees are frequent victims of hotel violence. Muir Analytics keeps a registry of hotel violence perpetrators and victims in its SecureHotel Threat Portal.

Fourth, initial reporting indicates effective law enforcement response in this case. Police decisively neutralized the shooter. No more people were killed in a situation that might otherwise have resulted in a higher casualty count – possibly even a massacre.

Fifth, Oneida tribal officials said they would be reviewing the incident along with law enforcement to improve security and reduce risks. Hotel threat intelligence can improve hotel risk reduction by enhancing physical security, crisis response, PR, consequence management, insurance calibration, architecture hardening, hotel staff training, and negligence lawsuit preparedness.

Muir Analytics runs the world’s largest, most sophisticated hotel violence database – the SecureHotel Threat Portal. Armed with this powerful intelligence, Muir can aid the hospitality sector with full-spectrum risk reduction advising and help hotels protect staff, guests, hotel buildings, brands, and revenues. Contact us for a consultation: 1-833-DATA-444.

Sources and further reading:

“Oneida Casino reopens to customers after Saturday’s shooting,” WBAY News, 6 May 2021.

“Radisson gunman threatened former boss before deadly shooting but allowed by court to possess firearms,” Green Bay Press-Gazette, 4 May 2021.

“Brown County Sheriff’s Office to speak at 10 a.m. on Oneida shooting,” WBAY News, 3 May 2021.

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