GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The active situation on the northwest edge of Green Bay is resolved and a man is in custody receiving mental health support.
Around 6:40 a.m. Tuesday, Green Bay police said a "disgruntled employee" at J.W. Enterprises called them with concerning comments, threatening to "damage the business" and that he "would shoot."
"Based on some of those initial statements about a possible shooting, it did amp things up a little bit," said Capt. Ben Allen, Green Bay Police Department. "We train constantly for these types of things, so that was a big piece of what our response was.”
Law enforcement blocked off the area between Packerland Drive and Indian Hills Drive for several hours. Police evacuated surrounding businesses. No one was inside J.W. Enterprises at the time.
"I just saw a bunch of swat cars, a bunch of police officers," said Chase Brabazon, a Green Bay resident who works at a different business just down the block. "Then it started escalating down there, so it cleared up around here."
The man, who police said is a Brown County resident in his 50s, was alone in his car in the parking lot of J.W. Enterprises. Police learned he didn't have any weapons with him and didn't have access to a gun.
The call quickly turned into a mental health crisis.
"He was really just having what I can describe as a very bad day today," Allen said. "We had concern for his mental health, his mental wellness, so we didn't want to rush anything in to this."
Negotiators from the Brown County Sheriff's Department and Green Bay Police Department were on scene, along with GBPD's behavioral health unit.
Eventually, Allen said officers used a flash bang and pepper balls to get the man out of his vehicle. Allen said the man was taken into custody and no one else was injured.
"I didn't expect something like to happen in this part of the neighborhood, or like, at all in Green Bay," Brabazon said.
Allen said they'll evaluate the situation to see if there will be any criminal charges. He said the man's mental wellness will also be evaluated.
The Green Bay Metro Fire Department, Oneida Police Department and state law enforcement assisted in the investigation.
