MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee County sheriff’s deputy was shot and wounded early Wednesday by a man later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
A preliminary investigation showed a man law enforcement officers encountered while searching for a passenger who fled from a traffic stop was the person suspected of shooting the deputy about 3 a.m., the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Officers saw the man crouched behind a vehicle, gave him some commands, then heard a single gunshot and found the man dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office said in an early-morning tweet that the passenger they were looking for was the shooter, but later backed away from making that connection.
Following the traffic stop, the driver and the passenger fled from the scene. The driver was arrested after a brief foot chase, Sheriff Earnell Lucas said at a news conference.
As deputies and other law enforcement officers searched for the passenger, a deputy saw a man climbing out of a garbage bin in the neighborhood.
Another deputy approached the man, who fired at the deputy, striking him several times in both arms and the torso, Lucas said. The deputy was taken to an area hospital, where he was being treated for injuries that did not appear life-threatening. The 26-year-old deputy has been with the department 18 months.
No officers fired their weapons, Lucas said.
Another person found walking in the neighborhood was arrested after a brief chase and deputies were trying to determine whether that person was involved in the shooting as well, Lucas said.
Two area schools switched to online learning Wednesday because of the shooting and the investigation.
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This story has been updated to correct that the deputy who was shot had responded as backup to the traffic stop, not that he initiated the traffic stop as initially reported by the sheriff’s office.
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