Name released of man killed outside Badger Tavern

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – The Dane Co. Medical Examiner’s Office has released the name of the man killed in a shooting outside a Madison bar early Friday morning.

The Medical Examiner’s report also confirmed the victim, identified as Jason Pritchard, died as the result of homicidal firearm-related trauma.

The Madison Police Department had indicated on the day of the shooting that they had already launched a homicide investigation into Pritchard’s death. Investigators are still trying to determine what led to the shooting. They have previously warned that doing so may take time.

“The victim was shot dead for no reason,” MPD Officer Jason Ostrenga said on Friday. “This one makes you feel uneasy because you feel like I can’t go to a neighborhood tavern and have a beer and all of a sudden I’m having a smoke and some dude pulls out a gun and shoots me.”

On Friday, MPD reported officers had responded to the Badger Tavern, in the 1600 block of Seminole Highway, shortly after midnight, where they found Pritchard in the parking lot. They began taking life-saving steps, but the Madison man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect in the shooting was still there when officers arrived and was taken into custody. He was arrested and booked into the Dane Co. jail on a count of first-degree homicide.

“We have a suspect custody. We talked to multiple witnesses and again from everything I know this was isolated between this victim and our suspect,” Ostrenga added.

The gun believed to have been used in the shooting has been recovered, police added.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call MPD detectives at 608-266-4730.

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