SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — A gunman in camouflage killed a former co-worker inside a Wisconsin factory early Monday, then committed suicide in the sprawling building, police said.
Police identified the shooter as Shadow Yang, 40, and the victim as Christina Wollenzien, 28. Both lived in Sheboygan.
Wollenzien was an assembly line worker in Rockline Industries' coffee filter division and had worked in the same area as Yang until about a year ago, a company official said.
She was on the job Monday when she was shot to death around 4:30 a.m., police Lt. Michael Williams said. Her attacker fired one shot, hitting her in the abdomen; then, when she tried to get away, he shot her in the head, said Kirk Engholt, vice president of human resources for Rockline.
As many as 130 other employees were in the factory near downtown Sheboygan at the time and quickly fled as officers cordoned off the area. About 20 tactical team officers searched the block-long building before finding Yang's body; police said it was unclear when he shot himself.
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Yang apparently forced his way into the plant, police Lt. Jeff Johnston said.
"A heavy object was used to smash the window on an exterior door," he said.
Employees who witnessed the shooting said it appeared Yang was targeting Wollenzien, Johnston said. Other employees did an impressive job of evacuating the plant, he said.
One handgun was found at the scene, but Johnston said the investigators were still looking over the factory for possible evidence.
Yang had quit his job in October, after working there as a materials handler for about five years, Engholt said. The only blemish on his work record was one unexcused absence, he said.
"No problems, no complaints," Engholt said. "That's why we're mystified by what happened here."
Yang drove a forklift and would have come into contact with Wollenzien occasionally, Engholt said. Wollenzien had worked at the plant about nine years, he said. Her mother also worked there, although on a different shift.
Wollenzien's sister, April Heinecke, 25, huddled in the drizzle with about a dozen others outside the plant Monday afternoon. Her mother, who was not at work, had called her in the morning with news of the shooting.
"She is someone we loved very much, she will be very much missed," the sister said.
There was no evidence that Yang and Wollenzien were romantically involved, Johnston said. Yang was divorced, and Wollenzien was single.
Heinecke said that her sister had no relationship with Yang other than as co-workers and that she didn't know of anything he could have had against her.
"That's why everybody is baffled," she said.
About 45 minutes before the shooting, firefighters were called to a fire at Yang's duplex apartment, Williams said. The fire was intentionally set, he said.
It was minor, brought quickly under control and caused mostly smoke damage in the duplex's upper unit, said Daniel Pitsch, a shift commander for the Sheboygan Fire Department.
Before Monday, police said, the only contact they had with Yang was issuing him a citation for unsafe parking.
Rockline Industries, a family-owned company headquartered in Sheboygan, makes items including coffee filters and baby wipes. It does business in more than 50 countries and has more than 1,800 employees worldwide.
