ROCHESTER — Following a standoff with sheriff's deputies in the village of Rochester in Racine County Friday afternoon, authorities found a man and woman deceased and concealed in the garage and another man dead in the basement with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling concluded during a press briefing hours after the incident that the man with the self-inflicted gunshot wound is believed to be "responsible" for the tragedy.
Around 9:06 a.m. Friday, Racine County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a house in the 400 block of North State Street in the Village of Rochester, Sheriff Schmaling said. The deputies were sent there for a welfare check after receiving a request from a family member who resides outside Wisconsin.
The sheriff said three people lived in the home, a 30-year-old son and his mother and father.
The deputies entered the home and searched for the occupants. Within moments a gunshot rang out near the deputies, the sheriff said.
The deputies took a "tactical" position, the sheriff says, and made a perimeter around the home.
Negotiators were sent in and made multiple attempts to make contact with the occupants verbally, by telephone and by social media, without success, the sheriff says.
The Sheriff's Office also used drones and robots to find the occupants, without success.
Deputies eventually discovered an adult male and an adult female dead and completely concealed in the home's garage.
The sheriff said both of the adults appear to have been deceased for a "significant period of time."
A third person, an adult male, was found dead in the house's basement with a recent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff says.
The sheriff added that he believes there is no threat to the public at this time. The office believes that the man found dead in the basement is the person responsible for the incident.
"As you can imagine this is a sad, tragic and unfortunate day and our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victims," Schmaling concluded.
