A Milwaukee police officer has reportedly died following a shooting in the city’s north side Metcalfe Park neighborhood, Police Chief Alfonso Morales said Wednesday. The shooting happened near the corner of 28th and Wright.
Morales released an update around 6:30 p.m. confirming that the officer, a 17-year veteran of the department and friend of the chief, had died as a result of his injuries.
“I’m saddened to inform you the officer injured did not make it today. This is a difficult time for us. He was well loved by the department and a friend of mine,” Morales said.
The officer was a member of the Special Investigations Division and were looking for man wanted on gun and drug violations, according to WISN. Morales said the incident unfolded after a check for a suspect wanted on drug and gun violations turned violent. Officers approached and encountered the suspect entering a residence before shots were fired at officers.
Sources tell TMJ4 the officer was hit twice in the shooting. He was taken to Froedtert Hospital and pronounced dead shortly after.
Milwaukee County Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt issued the following statement in the wake of the officer’s shooting:
“My heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and fellow officers who today suffered the loss of a beloved Milwaukee Police Department officer. Our community mourns once again at this tragic loss of life. May God’s comfort be felt in this most difficult moment.”
Milwaukee Police are on the scene of a critical incident where an officer was shot. Suspect is in custody. Media is to stage on 27th and North Ave for escort to 6:30p briefing location.
“Words cannot describe the sorrow and anger I feel at this time. Our police officers as they do every single day, put their lives on the line to protect the people who live in this city. Tragically, in the last few hours, one of them lost their lives trying to protect us. We as a community are grieving. The police department is grieving. This officer had been on the department a long time — well respected. Well liked. He was doing what he was hired to do — protect us. As police undertook their activities today, they knew they were undertaking a dangerous assignment as they do every single time they respond. I’m asking every resident of this city to pray for the families of police officers, to respect our police officers and thank them for the sacrifices they and their families make on our behalf,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
There are hundreds of officers at the scene, as well as SWAT vehicles, according to WISN. Police said they have a suspect in custody, and the weapon has been recovered.
The suspect has been arrested and was not wounded in the shooting, Morales said.
A witness gave an account of what happened to Fox 6: “Apparently it was a stop, and the guy hopped right out of the car and he’s like ‘I’m not going back to jail,’ and he got to shooting out the gate. Just got to shooting. And not only did he hit the officer, but he hit other innocent bystanders that was in the area. As of now, the officer, it don’t look like he’s in great condition right now. It don’t look like he’s gonna make it, to be honest. I stay right there on the corner, so I actually seen everything unfold from beginning to last. It was on the next block. I don’t know if they was getting ready to run into his house, or if it was just a traffic stop, but you could see the man get right out the car and just get to shooting and yelling ‘I’m not going back to jail. Y’all going to have to kill me.”
The witness continued: “We need to address this problem that’s going on in this city of Milwaukee — because if it’s not a death, it’s either a car accident, it’s either a robbery and it’s getting to the point where everybody needs to sit down as a community and address what really needs to be addressed because this is not the Milwaukee that I grew up in. This is not the Milwaukee that I know. This is chaos. Every day — chaos. And it doesn’t make any sense, and it’s about the community standing up and giving the community resources and things that they need to keep their life going in the right track.”
The shooting comes nearly two months after the death of a Milwaukee police officer, Charles “Chuckie” Irvine Jr., was killed after he crashed his vehicle while pursuing a reckless driver.
This is a breaking news story. Heavy will continue to update as more information is known.