'Still grieving:' Molson Coors slowly begins operations following deadly shooting

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Employees at Molson Coors are slowly getting back to work following a deadly shooting on February 26.

Five employees were killed before the gunman, who was also an employee, shot himself.

On Thursday, March 5, company leaders gave an update on how Molson Coors plans to move forward.

"The Molson Coors family is still grieving with the loss of teammates, friends and coworkers," Chief communications officer Adam Collins said. "The restart of the operations is going to be intentionally slow, because while some people are ready to back and get back to a sense of normalcy, others are not."

On Wednesday night, the brewery lines were turned on for the first time. Collins said there are grief counselors and trauma experts on hand for employees and their families.

Milwaukee Police released a statement on Wednesday denying rumors about what led to the shooting. Authorities said according to early findings, neither race nor racism played a part in the incident.

Collins acknowledged there have been issues in the past.

"I think we have work to do," he said.

There was at least one racist incident involving the shooting suspect, Anthony Ferrill. In 2015, a noose was discovered on his locker.

"We're going to go head on and we're going to address those cultural issues, we've already started talking to employees and listening to employees," Collins said.

Police aren't aware of any of the victims targeted in the shooting being involved in any inappropriate or racist behavior. MPD hasn't finished its investigation and officers urge people to stop spreading rumors until all of the facts come to light.

Molson Coors will have counselors on hand for as long as employees need. The brewery is expected to be fully operational in the next few days.