A routine Milwaukee Wednesday was disrupted by gunfire just before noon, when a Milwaukee police officer, 34 years old, sustained serious injuries after being shot by an armed suspect wielding a semi-automatic rifle. According to FOX6 News, the incident occurred on 27th Street between Wells Street and Wisconsin Avenue. The shooting erupted after police confronted the suspect, who had been reported for walking down the street visibly armed.

The injured officer, an eight-year veteran, was transported to Froedtert Hospital. In a statement obtained by WISN, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman confirmed that when the officers arrived, they ordered the man to relinquish his firearm. Instead, the man opened fire on the officers, who seriously wounding one of the officers. The other officer, also with more than eight years of service and now placed on administrative duty, returned fire, fatally striking the shooter, who remains unidentified.

The Milwaukee Area Investigative Team is currently handling the investigation into the shooting, with the Oak Creek Police Department playing a leading role. Ensuring transparency and due process, the investigation is still under way. Meanwhile, according to FOX6 News, the 37-year-old officer who shot the suspect has been placed on routine administrative duty as is the protocol following such incidents.

During the harrowing events, a witness, Ty'Rel Belin was on his route home from the gym, and unexpectedly found himself in the midst of the shootout. "I know I could have been hit by a stray bullet,” Belin recounted, fear lingering from the nearness of violence. In an interview with TMJ4, he described seeing a female officer with her gun drawn beside a garbage truck and two other officers confronting the suspect, a moment right before the fatal public confrontation came to an end.