Milwaukee police shot and killed a 31-year-old man Monday afternoon after a pursuit tied to a homicide earlier in the day near 7th and Mitchell. Officers tried to stop the vehicle around 4:45 p.m. near 35th and Walnut, but the driver fled, crashed near 35th and National and then fired at police, Chief Jeffrey Norman said.
Norman said investigators had already linked the vehicle to the fatal shooting of a 27-year-old near 7th and Mitchell around 5:30 a.m. Monday. The same vehicle later turned up near 35th and Walnut during a separate shots-fired incident, giving officers a second reason to move quickly when they found it again.
Police said several officers returned fire after the suspect exited the vehicle and opened fire. The man, identified as the sole occupant, was struck, taken to a hospital and later died. Officers recovered firearms from the scene, and police said no one else was hit by gunfire.
Norman said a 34-year-old involved in the crash was taken to a hospital with non-fatal injuries, and a few other vehicles were struck during the incident. Eight Milwaukee police officers fired their weapons. They were identified as a 35-year-old officer with more than eight years of service, three 33-year-old officers with more than 14, more than nine and more than eight years of service, two 30-year-old officers with more than 11 and more than seven years of service, a 29-year-old officer with more than three years of service and a 26-year-old officer with more than seven months of service.
The shooting closed the loop on a day that began with a homicide and ended in another death, this time involving police. What remains central now is the earlier killing, the vehicle that tied the two scenes together and the review of how eight officers ended up firing in the final moments near 35th and National.
