Three Dead As Gunman Opens Fire At Salon After He Found His Wife Dead

The gunman behind a terrifying shooting spree at a suburban Milwaukee spa and thought to have been targeting his estranged wife has been found dead.

Radcliffe Haughton, 45, was found dead after shooting an estimated seven people at a day spa in Brookfield, Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon.

Three people were confirmed dead and the four other victims are said to be in non-critical condition.

The deceased and injured victims were all women, police said.

Authorities would not say whether Haughton's wife was among them.

During the investigation, cops encountered smoke from a small fire that had been started in the building, prompting them to issue a call for extreme caution and keeping them out.

Brookfield Police Chief Daniel Tushaus said at an evening news conference: 'It appears that he is deceased of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.'

He added: 'There is no other suspect that we are seeking.'

In an earlier statement to the press, Chief Tushaus said the shooting began at 11.09am Sunday morning inside the Azana Spa.

Haughton was described as a bald ethnic man with darker skin, about 6 foot one inch tall and 270 pounds. He is believed to have taken a taxi to the spa.

Haughton, of Brown Deer, is estranged from his wife, who works as a hair stylist at the salon where the shooting took place.

It is not yet clear whether the wife was one of the shooting victims.

Court records show that a judge issued a order of protection against Haughton just three days ago on October 18, hinting that there was a credible threat against the estranged wife.

Under that order, Haughton was prohibited from owning a firearm.

The protection order was filed after an October 4 incident at the salon, when Haughton slashed his wife's tires in the parking lot.

Haughton's two daughters - one of which was believed to have been at the salon at the time of the shooting - were found by police and are safe, according to Brown Deer police chief Steven Rinzel.

Chief Rinzel said that his department was familiar with Haughton - most recently on a domestic violence investigation at the home, which resulted in Haughton's arrest.

The Journal Sentinel contacted the suspect's father, Radcliffe Haughton Sr., who lives in Florida.

He said the he spoke to his son by phone last week shortly after his estranged wife had been awarded the restraining order against him.

'I told him, whatever you do, don't do anything stupid,' Mr Haughton Sr. said.

'He told me, "I have to get out of Wisconsin."

'I am so saddened. I don't know what to tell you. As his father, I am very, very sorry and I did not expect this from my son.

'So he hasn't been apprehended? Oh Lord. Have mercy, God.

A witness saw a woman screaming, and running out of the spa towards traffic.

'She ran right out into the street (and) was pounding on cars,' David Gosh told The Journal Sentinel.

He then saw a man carrying a handgun run after her, and he was thought to be chasing after the woman.

The gunman then saw police beginning to gather and he ran back in the direction in which he came, and back into the spa.

'He was the shooter. He was looking for an escape route,' Mr Gosh said.

A witness told the Journal-Sentinel that a he saw a young girl running through a parking lot in a panic after her mother was reportedly shot.

'She was screaming, yelling, crying hysterical. She was pleading for help,' Christopher Pfeiffer told the local paper.

'She kept saying, "My mother was shot." And she mentioned that there was a gunman. She ran into the bookstore and I followed her. But I watched her from afar.'

Live video of the Azana spa shows a tactical team moving in around 2pm on Sunday.

According to the spa's website, it boasts that it is the largest salon and day spa in Brookfield with 9,000-square-feet.

The layout of the spa- which has ten treatment rooms, male and female locker rooms, and a cafe area-complicates issues for police as people may be hiding inside.

Source: Legit.ng