A Shorewood, Wisconsin, police officer was shot but saved by his bulletproof vest in the early morning hours of July 3.
Several hours later, Glendale police were in a pursuit with the suspect who, according to scanner reports, opened fire at a squad.
The chase culminated in a man, likely the Shorewood officer shooting suspect per sources, being found dead with a gunshot wound to the left eye, according to dispatch audio. Around 10 a.m., per sources and scanner audio, officers were approaching the suspect car and discovered him dead inside. It’s not clear how the suspect was shot.
The gunman was described on the scanner as a black male in his 30s.
Courthouse sources say that, as with the Kendall Corder shooter in Milwaukee, the Shorewood officer shooting suspect has some cases that were not prosecuted in the past.
There were at least two domestic violence-related cases against the Shorewood shooter that don’t show up on CCAP, because the Milwaukee County DA’s office did not prosecute them a couple years ago, the sources say. The victim was allegedly beaten, choked, with threats to kill being made against her. The reasons for not prosecuting includean uncooperative victim and insufficient evidence.
In 2020, he was accused in connection with a shooting, but there’s no charge. It’s not clear why. He was also investigated in connection with a shooting at a tow truck driver who was repossessing his girlfriend’s car, but there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him. It appears the tow truck one, at least, was not presented to the DA due to lack of evidence, according to the sources.
We are also hearing that the shot Shorewood police officer was responding to the scene of a domestic-violence attack that may have resulted in both a fatality and neighbor being shot, although that information is preliminary.
We have the gunman’s name but are withholding it for now as the situation is so early.
His criminal record appears to be a conviction for misdemeanor possessing a dangerous weapon by a person under 18 in 2009. He was also convicted of Misdemeanor battery, which was reduced from a felony in 2009. And he has low-level traffic matters.
“Half an inch and it could’ve been a completely different circumstance,” Shorewood Police Chief Heather Wurth said in a news conference.
The shooting comes just days after a Milwaukee police officer, Kendall Corder, died after being shot in an ambush by a gunman who also injured his partner.
Wurth confirmed in a news conference that the Shorewood police officer was shot in the earlier incident and was released from the hospital already. He was responding to a shooting call at Bartlett and Kenmore around 3 a.m., she said.
Wurth said the suspect shot at the officer’s squad car as he responded to the scene, with two rounds hitting the vehicle. She confirmed he was struck in the vest.
“The Shorewood Police Department and assisting agencies are currently on the scene of an active shooting investigation in the 4000-4200 block of N. Bartlett Avenue. We urge the public to avoid this area and seek alternate routes as officers conduct their investigation,” Shorewood police wrote around 6 a.m.
“This is a fluid and active scene, and more information will be released as it becomes available.”
