MADISON, Wis. – In the early hours of Sunday, a rooftop party in downtown Madison turned chaotic as a shooting left at least 10 people injured. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes described the incident as a miracle that no fatalities occurred during a news conference. The shooting occurred at around 12:45 a.m. at the Lux high-rise apartment building near the University of Wisconsin-Madison, leading to a scene of panic as dozens of individuals fled the complex.
Responding officers encountered a distressing situation, with some partygoers hiding in a maintenance closet to seek safety, Barnes revealed. The victims, aged between 14 and 23, sustained gunshot wounds, graze injuries, and broken glass injuries. Despite the chaos, all victims are expected to survive. The Madison Police Department recovered about 10 shell casings from the scene of the crime.
With hundreds of people estimated to have been present on the rooftop, the scale of the incident is alarming. Barnes emphasized that no motive for the shooting has been identified at this time. Additionally, no arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon. The shooting marked the second violent incident in Madison within 48 hours, following a fatal shooting on Williamson Street where 50 shell casings were discovered and multiple buildings were damaged.
“As a community, our hearts are hurting at this time,” expressed Barnes, urging anyone with information or cellphone videos from Saturday night to come forward to Madison Area Crime Stoppers. Information shared may be done anonymously and could potentially lead to a monetary reward if it aids in the arrest of those responsible for the violence.