APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – An Appleton Police officer and a bystander are recovering from injuries after a 23-year-old shoplifting suspect wrestled the gun away from the cop and began shooting.
“He struck her one time in the hip area,” said Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas. “The male then fired additional rounds towards the male citizens who had stopped to assist the officer and one of them was struck in the upper chest area. According to multiple independent witnesses, the male suspect then shot himself in the head.”
This shootout happened in the 900 block of S. Kensington Drive, following two gas station thefts by the suspect. The first happened on E. Newberry Street and the second not far from the scene on Kensington.
Some residents in the area had a close look at what happened.
“We got woken up by some screams,” Mike Lodahl told FOX 11. “A couple of very loud screams, a very high-pitched scream yelling, ‘no, no.’”
Lodahl, who has lived in his Appleton home for 9 years, says he saw the suspect open fire at a white car before taking his own life.
“He kind of hesitated a little bit,” he said, “and it wasn’t 1 or 2 seconds later and he took the gun, put it under his chin and shot himself in the head.”
At a news conference Saturday, Chief Thomas thanked the injured officer and wounded citizen for their bravery.
He said they have undergone surgery and are recovering with non life-threatening injuries.
Thomas also offered his condolences to the suspect’s family. Appleton police say they will be releasing the names of the officer, citizen and suspect involved in the next couple of days.
The Green Bay Police Department will take over the investigation.
“Even though it is not required to be investigated by an outside agency, I felt that our commitment to being transparent would best be fulfilled if we had an outside agency investigate this incident,” said Thomas.
