MILWAUKEE — Three police officers and a suspect suffered non-life-threatening injuries after exchanging gunfire on Thursday.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said at 10:15 a.m. in the 5300 block of North 91st Street, police were looking for a 35-year-old male suspect. He was wanted for possessing a firearm as a felon, domestic violence and sexual assault.
MPD officers attempted to communicate with the suspect, but the suspect opened fire on the officers just after 11:30 a.m. Four police officers shot back at the suspect.
After the gunfire exchange, Norman said officers continued to communicate with the suspect, who then surrendered two firearms and extended magazines. Norman said the officers were highly trained in deescalation tactics.
The shootings took place in an apartment building.
The suspect was taken into custody and was taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Three MPD officers sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and are receiving treatment. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said all of the officers are expected to be OK.
“What happened here is a tragedy that should not have happened,” Mayor Johnson said. “Even though the officers were injured here, this wasn't just an attack on them. This was an attack on the entire Milwaukee Police Department. This was an attack on the entire city of Milwaukee. This is an attack on everybody in this community who wants to have safety in our community.”
Norman said he did not yet know the extent of each officer’s injuries.
Johnson reminded people that if they commit a crime, police will find them.
“When you [commit crimes], you will be caught and there should be a consequence to pay and the same thing holds true to the incident that happened today,” Johnson said.
Both Norman and Johnson said an incident like this is traumatizing to the community and said people deserve to live safely without having to worry about firearms. The residential area is home to multiple children, who could have been endangered due to this incident, officials said.
“These behaviors are unacceptable. Firearms used in this way is unacceptable… This is, again, a problem for our community and we need to make sure we turn this behavior around not only locally but also nationally,” Norman said.
Michael Perez was right outside the building on 91st street between Appleton Avenue and Silver Spring when the gun fire erupted. He was in the area doing outreach for the group Great Lakes Adult & Teen Challenge.
Perez said he was caught off guard because everything happened so fast.
“It was just unreal, it looked like he had an automatic because there were like 6 or 8 shots very quickly, so we had to duck down," said Perez.
Eight-year-old, Hennessey Smith returned home with his mom from his second day of school on Thursday to find his street flooded with police cars. He said he's scared of the violence in his neighborhood.
“I literally try to walk home on my own and now that this is happening. It's too much," said Smith.
Smith's mom, Kaylee Trensch-Zettel said she fears for the safety of her young children and is thinking of moving because of the violence in the area.
“It’s always happening over here. You always hear gun shots going on and people speeding and stuff like that,” said Trensch-Zettel.
The four officers who discharged their weapons will be placed on administrative duty, per department policy. The officers who fired their guns included a 39-year-old male with over 16 years of service, a 40-year-old male with over 12 years of service, a 43-year-old male with over 19 years of service and a 49-year-old male with over 19 years of service.
Officers were wearing body cameras during the incident. Norman said the investigation is fluid and ongoing.